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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. tube — a container
  5. saw — the tool
  6. land — a country
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. bark — to shout
  10. degree — from a university
  11. saw — the tool
  12. degree — an amount
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. degree — temperature
  15. cold — an illness
  16. object — a thing
  17. land — to come down
  18. cold — not warm
  19. object — an aim
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. tube — the underground
  22. land — ground
  23. object — to protest
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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