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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: rush · board · wind · toast · cold · content · bark · roll

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bark — to shout
  3. rush — hurry
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. roll — a cake
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. toast — bread
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. roll — a list
  15. content — the amount
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. board — to get on
  22. content — happy
  23. board — a committee
  24. cold — not warm

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