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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  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. bark — a dog's sound
  2. race — humankind
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. degree — temperature
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. degree — an amount
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. degree — from a university
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. spell — magic
  13. spell — letters
  14. tube — a container
  15. race — a contest
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. mine — for digging
  18. tube — the underground
  19. spell — a short time
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. racket — for tennis
  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