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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hide · bark · hand · firm · mine · pitch · cold · club

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. club — for dancing
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. firm — a company
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. bark — to shout
  13. firm — steady
  14. mine — for digging
  15. hand — help
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. club — for golf
  18. club — a group
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. firm — decided
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. hand — in cards
  24. bark — of a tree

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