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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wound · mate · fine · bark · rash · cold · mine · cabinet

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rash — hasty
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mate — a partner
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. wound — an injury
  13. fine — all right
  14. fine — high quality
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bark — to shout
  17. mate — to breed
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. cold — not warm
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. rash — a series

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