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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. bark — to shout
  4. race — humankind
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. rest — what's left
  9. race — the arms race
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. last — final
  14. race — a contest
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. rest — what's left
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. last — to go on
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. last — finally
  21. mine — for digging
  22. cold — an illness
  23. rest — a break
  24. cold — the Cold War

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