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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 120 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bat — the animal
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. key — in music
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. sharp — clever
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. dip — to sink
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. prune — to trim
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. key — for a lock
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. key — the most important part
  24. bark — to shout

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