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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. squash — the sport
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. rest — what's left
  8. scale — in music
  9. plane — a tool
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. staff — employees
  14. rest — a break
  15. bass — low music
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — the fish
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. staff — employees
  23. squash — to crush
  24. staff — a stick

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