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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. chip — to eat
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. ground — crushed
  8. mine — for digging
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rush — hurry
  11. cold — not warm
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. rest — what's left
  14. ground — a position
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. chip — for betting
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bark — to shout
  19. rest — a break
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. ground — the earth
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. mine — an explosive

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