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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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. fan — a supporter
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. fine — high quality
  6. fine — all right
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. cold — an illness
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. pound — a weight
  14. foot — a measure
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. bark — to shout
  24. jam — in traffic

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