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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. march — the month
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. row — to paddle
  9. bark — to shout
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. rest — a break
  12. row — a line
  13. rest — what's left
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. rest — what's left
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. march — music
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. march — the month
  24. temple — side of the head

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