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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — an illness
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. chest — a box
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. root — of a word
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. root — the cause
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. root — of a plant
  18. cold — not warm
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bat — the animal
  23. chest — of your body
  24. ruler — a monarch

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