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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: bay · wound · sharp · press · bark · cold · date · content

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — an illness
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. content — happy
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. press — to push
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. press — newspapers
  13. sharp — clever
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. content — the amount
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. bark — to shout
  18. date — the fruit
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. press — a publisher

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