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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  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. bark — to shout
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. mark — a trace
  4. tear — from crying
  5. lean — thin
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. tear — to rip
  9. lean — to bend
  10. court — of law
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. drill — army training
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. drill — a practice
  16. court — for sport
  17. mark — a grade
  18. court — of a king
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — the arms race
  22. tear — from crying
  23. drill — the tool
  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