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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 116 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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. wound — an injury
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. track — a path
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. bark — to shout
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. stock — goods
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. track — to keep track
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cold — an illness
  16. race — humankind
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. cold — not warm
  20. track — a song
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. stock — shares
  23. race — the arms race
  24. wound — an injury

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