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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 124 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. cap — a lid
  3. wind — moving air
  4. present — there
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. present — a gift
  7. bark — to shout
  8. race — humankind
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. present — the time now
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. cap — a hat
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. race — a contest
  19. cap — of ice
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. wind — moving air
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. content — happy
  24. race — the arms race

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