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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. track — a song
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. track — to keep track
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bark — to shout
  11. season — of the year
  12. track — a path
  13. season — in sport
  14. face — to confront
  15. race — the arms race
  16. face — part of the head
  17. wound — an injury
  18. face — to point toward
  19. stock — goods
  20. race — a contest
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. stock — shares

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