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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. fall — to drop
  3. race — humankind
  4. chip — to eat
  5. fall — to drop
  6. land — a country
  7. chip — for betting
  8. file — a line of people
  9. can — a tin
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pound — a weight
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — to be able to
  17. file — a document
  18. land — to come down
  19. fall — the season
  20. race — a contest
  21. land — ground
  22. file — a tool
  23. race — the arms race
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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