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

Word bank: tube · wake · cell · hide · bark · chair · bay · kid

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. cell — a phone
  6. kid — to tease
  7. tube — a container
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. kid — child
  11. cell — in biology
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. bark — to shout
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. tube — the underground
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. wake — a trail
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bay — a horse colour

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