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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. spring — the season
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. cue — a signal
  7. cold — an illness
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — of water
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bark — to shout
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. pit — a hole
  16. cue — a hint
  17. craft — a skill
  18. plane — a tool
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. craft — boats
  22. pit — in a race
  23. cue — for pool
  24. fan — a supporter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com