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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. face — part of the head
  5. face — to confront
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. spell — letters
  9. craft — a skill
  10. craft — boats
  11. rule — a law
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. spell — a short time
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. pound — a weight
  18. land — ground
  19. cold — not warm
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — a country
  22. face — to point toward
  23. rule — government
  24. spell — magic

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