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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. swing — in golf
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. face — to point toward
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. face — part of the head
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rash — a series
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. bark — to shout
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. cold — not warm
  19. swing — music
  20. swing — to play on
  21. face — to confront
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. leaves — to go away

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