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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. board — a committee
  4. pit — in a race
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — a position
  7. capital — a city
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. capital — money
  11. board — to get on
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. cold — an illness
  14. pit — a hole
  15. bark — to shout
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. rule — government
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. rule — a law
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. ground — the earth
  24. safe — out of danger

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