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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bore — to tire
  5. cold — an illness
  6. court — of a king
  7. present — the time now
  8. present — there
  9. bore — to drill
  10. court — for sport
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bark — to shout
  13. ground — crushed
  14. can — a tin
  15. ground — a position
  16. can — a tin
  17. board — to get on
  18. court — of law
  19. ground — the earth
  20. present — a gift
  21. board — a committee
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. cold — not warm

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