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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. race — the arms race
  4. object — to protest
  5. net — for catching
  6. file — a tool
  7. craft — boats
  8. degree — an amount
  9. root — the cause
  10. root — of a plant
  11. craft — a skill
  12. object — a thing
  13. file — a document
  14. bark — to shout
  15. object — an aim
  16. root — of a word
  17. degree — temperature
  18. file — a line of people
  19. race — a contest
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. race — humankind
  22. degree — from a university
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — after costs

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