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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 120 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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. dip — to sink
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — humankind
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. tube — a container
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. race — the arms race
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. spring — the season
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. spring — a coil
  16. pit — a hole
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. pit — in a race
  21. tube — the underground
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. spring — of water

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