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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. bark — to shout
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — not warm
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. fine — all right
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. fine — high quality
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. branch — a division
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. branch — of a bank

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