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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: cold · field · mate · current · bark · cabinet · snap · trunk

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — to breed
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. current — of water
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. mate — a friend
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — for sport
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. field — a subject
  19. current — happening now
  20. current — electric
  21. snap — to click
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bark — to shout
  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