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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. board — a committee
  4. spell — letters
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. row — to paddle
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. march — music
  9. row — a line
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. spell — a short time
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. cold — an illness
  16. press — newspapers
  17. bark — to shout
  18. press — to push
  19. press — a publisher
  20. board — to get on
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. spell — magic
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. cold — not warm

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