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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — to shout
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. race — a contest
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. field — for sport
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. field — farmland
  13. tear — to rip
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. fine — high quality
  16. tear — from crying
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wound — an injury
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. tear — from crying
  21. race — the arms race
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. fine — all right
  24. race — humankind

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