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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. craft — boats
  3. bark — to shout
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. press — newspapers
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. march — music
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. race — the arms race
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. hand — in cards
  13. race — humankind
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. craft — a skill
  16. press — to push
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. sharp — clever
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. march — the month
  22. press — a publisher
  23. march — the month
  24. hand — help

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