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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  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. race — a contest
  2. season — of the year
  3. last — to go on
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. last — finally
  6. race — the arms race
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — soda
  11. last — final
  12. can — a tin
  13. pop — to visit
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. prune — to trim
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. can — a tin
  19. season — in sport
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. can — to be able to
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bark — to shout
  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