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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. race — humankind
  7. tube — a container
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. race — a contest
  10. bark — to shout
  11. clip — for paper
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. sharp — clever
  14. tube — the underground
  15. chip — to eat
  16. clip — a video
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. plane — a tool
  20. roll — a list
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. race — the arms race
  24. chip — for betting

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