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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. present — there
  3. drill — the tool
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. drill — a practice
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. cold — an illness
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. swing — music
  11. fork — in a road
  12. swing — to play on
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. prune — to trim
  15. swing — in golf
  16. present — a gift
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. drill — army training
  19. stock — goods
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. present — the time now
  22. stock — shares
  23. bark — to shout
  24. prune — to trim

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