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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. file — a tool
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. mug — to rob
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. mug — a cup
  10. cap — of ice
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. mug — a face
  13. pop — to visit
  14. file — a line of people
  15. cap — a hat
  16. pop — soda
  17. bark — to shout
  18. cold — not warm
  19. file — a document
  20. date — the fruit
  21. cap — a lid
  22. pop — music
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. cold — an illness

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