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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. chest — of your body
  3. row — a line
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. pit — a hole
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. current — happening now
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. row — to paddle
  10. bark — to shout
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. current — electric
  14. chest — of your body
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. race — a contest
  17. cold — not warm
  18. pit — in a race
  19. race — the arms race
  20. race — humankind
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. chest — a box
  23. current — of water
  24. bark — of a tree

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