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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. ground — the earth
  4. wind — moving air
  5. ground — a position
  6. last — to go on
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. race — the arms race
  10. last — finally
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. last — final
  13. race — a contest
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. wind — moving air
  17. track — a song
  18. track — to keep track
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. deal — to handle
  21. bore — to drill
  22. race — humankind
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. track — a path

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