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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. cold — an illness
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. cold — not warm
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. ball — a dance
  10. bark — to shout
  11. wind — moving air
  12. squash — to crush
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. fine — all right
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. ball — a great time
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. deal — to handle
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — the sport
  24. ball — a round shape

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