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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. season — in sport
  5. band — a music group
  6. board — a committee
  7. season — of the year
  8. key — the most important part
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. key — in music
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cold — not warm
  18. board — to get on
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bark — to shout
  22. key — for a lock
  23. band — a ring
  24. season — to add flavour

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