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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. bulb — for light
  3. drill — a practice
  4. shower — to wash
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — the arms race
  7. shower — rain
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. game — a match
  10. staff — employees
  11. game — wild animals
  12. staff — employees
  13. drill — army training
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. race — humankind
  16. last — final
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. drill — the tool
  20. bulb — for light
  21. last — finally
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bark — to shout
  24. last — to go on

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