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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: present · swing · leaves · mark · bark · cold · bear · lie

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. bear — the animal
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. present — there
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. bark — to shout
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mark — a trace
  10. lie — to recline
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. swing — in golf
  15. present — the time now
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. cold — an illness
  19. mark — a grade
  20. swing — to play on
  21. present — a gift
  22. bear — the animal
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. swing — music

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