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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. saw — the tool
  5. drill — the tool
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. cold — not warm
  8. drill — a practice
  9. charge — a price
  10. drill — army training
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — farmland
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. charge — in control
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. charge — electricity
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bark — to shout
  21. field — for sport
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. leaves — 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