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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 120 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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. cold — not warm
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. pound — a weight
  9. shower — rain
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — for sport
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. court — of law
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pop — soda
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bat — the animal
  22. pop — to visit
  23. pop — music
  24. safe — out of danger

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