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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rash — hasty
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. object — to protest
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. ground — the earth
  8. object — a thing
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. bark — to shout
  11. ground — a position
  12. object — an aim
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mark — a grade
  15. mine — for digging
  16. ground — crushed
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. drill — a practice
  19. mark — a trace
  20. cold — an illness
  21. drill — the tool
  22. drill — army training
  23. mine — belonging to me
  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