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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. race — the arms race
  5. fall — to drop
  6. race — a contest
  7. firm — decided
  8. race — humankind
  9. squash — the sport
  10. net — in sport
  11. fall — to drop
  12. net — for catching
  13. fall — the season
  14. bark — to shout
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. firm — steady
  17. capital — money
  18. toast — bread
  19. squash — to crush
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. capital — a city
  24. net — after costs

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