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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. vault — a safe
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. snap — to click
  6. squash — to crush
  7. squash — the sport
  8. bark — to shout
  9. pass — a permit
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. saw — the tool
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — an illness
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. branch — a division
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. saw — the tool
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. bark — 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