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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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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. hand — help
  6. wake — a trail
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cue — for pool
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cue — a hint
  18. ball — a great time
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. hand — in cards
  24. bark — to shout

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