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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · object · hide · chest · mouse · bark

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. chest — of your body
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. object — an aim
  9. bark — to shout
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. object — to protest
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. object — a thing
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body

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