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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 116 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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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. cell — in biology
  4. mark — a grade
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. hand — help
  8. game — wild animals
  9. hand — in cards
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — to shout
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cap — a hat
  14. game — a match
  15. cap — a lid
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. pit — a hole
  18. ball — a dance
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. cap — of ice
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. pit — in a race
  23. ball — a great time
  24. cell — in a prison

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