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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bark — to shout
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. band — a ring
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. ground — the earth
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pit — a hole
  11. drill — army training
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. cold — an illness
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. band — a music group
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. cold — not warm
  18. ground — crushed
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. drill — a practice
  21. pit — in a race
  22. ground — a position
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. drill — the tool

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