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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: cold · stick · cell · deal · bark · mouse

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cold — an illness
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. deal — to handle
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cell — in biology
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. deal — a big deal

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