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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — to shout
  3. band — a music group
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. object — to protest
  6. band — a ring
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — a match
  9. root — of a word
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. race — a contest
  12. object — an aim
  13. bulb — for light
  14. game — wild animals
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bulb — for light
  17. race — humankind
  18. pass — a permit
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. race — the arms race
  21. object — a thing
  22. root — the cause
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. root — of a plant

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