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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. last — final
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. race — humankind
  10. race — the arms race
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. file — a tool
  13. deal — to handle
  14. race — a contest
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. file — a document
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — size or range
  19. file — a line of people
  20. last — finally
  21. last — to go on
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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