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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bark — to shout
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. tube — a container
  6. mine — for digging
  7. race — the arms race
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. rest — what's left
  12. race — humankind
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. tube — the underground
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — a break
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. race — a contest

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