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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. pop — to visit
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. squash — to crush
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. squash — the sport
  8. rule — a law
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. cold — not warm
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. pop — soda
  20. perch — the fish
  21. bark — to shout
  22. rule — government
  23. pop — music
  24. bark — of a tree

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