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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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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. prune — to trim
  3. race — humankind
  4. land — ground
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. tube — a container
  8. last — to go on
  9. prune — to trim
  10. land — to come down
  11. last — finally
  12. track — a path
  13. track — to keep track
  14. spell — letters
  15. spell — magic
  16. track — a song
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. last — final
  19. spell — a short time
  20. land — a country
  21. tube — the underground
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — to shout
  24. race — the arms race

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