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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. spring — a coil
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bark — to shout
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. press — a publisher
  10. race — the arms race
  11. bat — the animal
  12. press — newspapers
  13. clip — to cut
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. clip — a video
  16. spring — of water
  17. press — to push
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. race — humankind
  20. spring — the season
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. bat — in an idiom

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