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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'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cue — a hint
  3. object — a thing
  4. game — wild animals
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. scale — in music
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. cue — a signal
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. object — to protest
  14. cold — not warm
  15. tear — from crying
  16. object — an aim
  17. cold — an illness
  18. scale — size or range
  19. tear — to rip
  20. wake — a trail
  21. cue — for pool
  22. bark — to shout
  23. game — a match
  24. tear — from crying

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