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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. can — a tin
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. can — to be able to
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. current — happening now
  7. current — of water
  8. cold — not warm
  9. saw — the tool
  10. can — a tin
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — to shout
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. wound — an injury
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. capital — money
  18. current — electric
  19. capital — a city
  20. saw — the tool
  21. wound — an injury
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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