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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. last — to go on
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. cue — a signal
  5. bark — to shout
  6. ground — the earth
  7. cue — a hint
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cell — a phone
  10. ground — crushed
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. last — finally
  16. cold — an illness
  17. ground — a position
  18. cold — not warm
  19. last — final
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. cue — for pool

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