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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 120 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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. current — happening now
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. drill — a practice
  6. tear — from crying
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. bark — to shout
  9. race — humankind
  10. drill — the tool
  11. cold — not warm
  12. tear — to rip
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. current — of water
  15. cold — an illness
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. race — a contest
  18. current — electric
  19. mark — a grade
  20. drill — army training
  21. mark — a trace
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. race — the arms race
  24. tear — from crying

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