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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. rock — a stone
  3. kick — in football
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. rock — music
  7. lean — to bend
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. game — wild animals
  12. cold — an illness
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — finally
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. last — final
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bark — to shout
  21. game — a match
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. lean — thin
  24. temple — side of the head

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