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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 sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — the arms race
  8. content — happy
  9. shower — rain
  10. content — the amount
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. plane — a tool
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bark — to shout
  15. wind — moving air
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. race — humankind

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