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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. ground — crushed
  7. mate — a friend
  8. swing — in golf
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. branch — a division
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — in a race
  15. swing — to play on
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mate — to breed
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. ground — the earth
  20. swing — music
  21. cold — an illness
  22. ground — a position
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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