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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. shower — to wash
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. bear — the animal
  7. race — a contest
  8. race — humankind
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. vault — a safe
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bear — the animal
  14. roll — a cake
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. wound — an injury
  17. roll — a list
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. race — the arms race
  22. wound — an injury
  23. shower — rain
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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