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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. race — humankind
  4. roll — a list
  5. last — final
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bark — to shout
  8. cell — in biology
  9. face — to confront
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. face — part of the head
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. last — finally
  15. race — a contest
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. last — to go on
  18. race — the arms race
  19. face — to point toward
  20. squash — the sport
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. cell — a phone
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. squash — to crush

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