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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. field — a subject
  4. firm — decided
  5. fall — to drop
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bark — to shout
  8. degree — an amount
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — for sport
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. fall — the season
  14. race — a contest
  15. degree — from a university
  16. race — humankind
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. race — the arms race
  19. degree — temperature
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. firm — steady
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. firm — a company
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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