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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. field — farmland
  4. shower — rain
  5. race — humankind
  6. bark — to shout
  7. sharp — clever
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. race — a contest
  10. vault — a safe
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. race — the arms race
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. field — for sport
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. ground — crushed
  19. field — a subject
  20. ground — the earth
  21. shower — to wash
  22. stem — to come from
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. ground — a position

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