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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. craft — a skill
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — to shout
  5. spring — of water
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. spring — the season
  8. game — a match
  9. press — newspapers
  10. spring — a coil
  11. clip — for paper
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — a contest
  14. craft — boats
  15. press — a publisher
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. press — to push
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — to cut
  24. race — humankind

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