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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 116 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. board — to get on
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. pop — music
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bank — for money
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. bark — to shout
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. saw — the tool
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. bank — of a river
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. pop — soda
  21. cold — not warm
  22. board — a committee
  23. bank — for money
  24. saw — the tool

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