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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. mark — a trace
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — in biology
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bark — to shout
  10. pitch — completely
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. mark — a grade
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — for digging
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. cold — not warm
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. cell — a phone

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