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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 120 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. can — a tin
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. pitch — completely
  6. bark — to shout
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. face — to confront
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. can — to be able to
  15. scale — size or range
  16. face — part of the head
  17. face — to point toward
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. branch — a division
  20. cold — not warm
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. scale — in music
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. can — a tin

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