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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. last — to go on
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. rush — hurry
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. race — a contest
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. race — the arms race
  16. last — finally
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. board — to get on
  19. board — a committee
  20. bark — to shout
  21. deal — to handle
  22. last — final
  23. race — humankind
  24. bowl — to roll

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