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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. row — to paddle
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. chip — to eat
  5. bark — to shout
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. ground — a position
  8. fine — high quality
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — humankind
  11. fine — all right
  12. file — a line of people
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. file — a tool
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. file — a document
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — the earth
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. race — the arms race
  24. chip — for betting

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