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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. race — a contest
  3. bound — tied together
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bound — certain
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. bark — to shout
  8. rock — music
  9. ground — crushed
  10. pop — soda
  11. race — humankind
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — a position
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. rock — a stone
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a city
  21. pop — to visit
  22. bound — obliged
  23. pop — music
  24. rock — to move gently

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