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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. tear — from crying
  3. land — a country
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. stock — shares
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. race — a contest
  10. stock — goods
  11. bark — to shout
  12. land — ground
  13. ball — a great time
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. hand — in cards
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. hand — help
  21. land — to come down
  22. race — the arms race
  23. ball — a dance
  24. stock — a soup base

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