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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. march — the month
  3. rule — a law
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — the fruit
  7. bass — low music
  8. land — to come down
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — not warm
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. lean — to bend
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lean — thin
  19. land — a country
  20. bark — to shout
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. land — ground
  23. rule — government
  24. bass — the instrument

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