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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 124 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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. roll — a cake
  3. fork — in a road
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. swing — in golf
  6. ball — a dance
  7. swing — music
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. ball — a great time
  17. band — a music group
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. roll — a list
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. swing — to play on
  23. band — a ring
  24. cold — an illness

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