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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 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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bass — low music
  5. current — happening now
  6. cold — not warm
  7. row — to paddle
  8. row — a line
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. season — in sport
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. season — of the year
  15. kick — in football
  16. pitch — completely
  17. current — electric
  18. current — of water
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. cold — an illness
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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