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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 116 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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bark — to shout
  7. field — farmland
  8. race — humankind
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. field — a subject
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. field — for sport
  14. race — a contest
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. deal — to handle
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. march — the month
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. race — the arms race
  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