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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. tube — the underground
  3. bark — to shout
  4. race — a contest
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. spring — the season
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — of water
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. race — the arms race
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. tube — a container

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