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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  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 — of a tree
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — to shout
  5. mug — a cup
  6. press — to push
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. cell — in biology
  10. hand — in cards
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. hand — help
  13. row — a line
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. wax — to grow
  17. press — a publisher
  18. row — to paddle
  19. mug — a face
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. dip — to sink
  22. mug — to rob
  23. press — newspapers
  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