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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bark — to shout
  3. mate — to breed
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — the earth
  7. mate — a partner
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. mate — a friend
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. race — a contest
  13. season — of the year
  14. row — to paddle
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. ground — a position
  17. race — the arms race
  18. row — a line
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. game — a match
  22. race — humankind
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. season — in sport

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