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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 116 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. cold — not warm
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. ball — a great time
  8. cap — a lid
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. cap — a hat
  13. ball — a dance
  14. drill — a practice
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. drill — the tool
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. drill — army training

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