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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. race — humankind
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. clip — to cut
  6. land — a country
  7. race — a contest
  8. land — ground
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. wake — a trail
  11. mug — a face
  12. mug — a cup
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. mug — to rob
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. race — the arms race
  18. clip — for paper
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. clip — a video
  21. land — to come down
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bark — to shout

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