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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. lean — thin
  3. bark — to shout
  4. swing — to play on
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. rock — music
  8. roll — a cake
  9. swing — in golf
  10. fall — the season
  11. lean — to bend
  12. mate — to breed
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. mug — a face
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. mug — a cup
  19. swing — music
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. roll — a list
  22. mug — to rob
  23. mate — a partner
  24. rock — a stone

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