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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. can — to be able to
  3. cold — an illness
  4. can — a tin
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rock — a stone
  8. pop — soda
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. can — a tin
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. pop — music
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — shares
  17. drill — army training
  18. pop — to visit
  19. drill — a practice
  20. rock — music
  21. drill — the tool
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bark — to shout
  24. cold — the Cold War

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