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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. capital — money
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. rule — government
  7. chair — a leader
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. rule — a law
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — an illness
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. bark — to shout
  21. capital — a city
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. wave — with your hand

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