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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. pass — a permit
  4. net — for catching
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bark — to shout
  9. mark — a grade
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. net — after costs
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. ball — a great time
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. ball — a dance
  20. net — in sport
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. mark — a trace

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