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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. last — to go on
  3. firm — steady
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. last — finally
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — of ice
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. firm — decided
  13. firm — a company
  14. degree — an amount
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — an illness
  17. degree — from a university
  18. fork — in a road
  19. pitch — completely
  20. last — final
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. cap — a hat

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