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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bark — to shout
  4. cap — of ice
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. cap — a lid
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wake — a trail
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. tear — from crying
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. bore — to drill
  20. cap — a hat
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — the animal
  23. tear — to rip
  24. snap — to click

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