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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. fine — all right
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. chip — to eat
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cold — an illness
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bark — to shout
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cold — not warm
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. degree — temperature
  17. chip — for betting
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. pitch — completely
  21. fine — high quality
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. fine — a penalty

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