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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. cold — an illness
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. stand — to bear
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. rash — hasty
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. pass — a permit
  11. scale — in music
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bore — to tire
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. rash — a series
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bore — to drill
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. wind — moving air
  23. scale — size or range
  24. bark — to shout

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