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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. drill — a practice
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. drill — army training
  8. kid — to tease
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pitch — completely
  11. stock — goods
  12. ball — a great time
  13. bark — to shout
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. drill — the tool
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. kid — child
  20. ball — a dance
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. stock — shares
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. bowl — to roll

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