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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. fine — all right
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. cold — an illness
  8. net — for catching
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. fine — high quality
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. pass — a permit
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. net — in sport
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. net — after costs
  22. pit — a hole
  23. pit — in a race
  24. chair — a leader

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