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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 124 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. current — of water
  5. key — in music
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. spring — the season
  10. cold — an illness
  11. key — for a lock
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. key — the most important part
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bound — tied together
  16. current — happening now
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bound — certain
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. current — electric
  22. bound — obliged
  23. pound — a weight
  24. spring — of water

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