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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. bark — to shout
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. sharp — clever
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. mark — a grade
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. perch — the fish
  12. mark — a trace
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — to come from
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. race — a contest
  19. race — the arms race
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. dip — to sink
  24. bark — of a tree

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