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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. tube — a container
  3. bark — to shout
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. tube — the underground
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. craft — boats
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. race — the arms race
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. race — humankind
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. craft — a skill
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — of water
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. chest — of your body
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. race — a contest

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