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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. race — humankind
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bulb — for light
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. bulb — for light
  11. ball — a great time
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. race — the arms race
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. ball — a dance
  20. race — a contest
  21. branch — a division
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. bark — to shout

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