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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. last — finally
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. last — final
  6. scale — in music
  7. saw — the tool
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. saw — the tool
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bank — for money
  12. last — to go on
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bark — to shout
  15. scale — size or range
  16. ball — a great time
  17. squash — the sport
  18. bank — for money
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. cold — an illness
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. bank — of a river
  24. ball — a dance

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