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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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — humankind
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. ball — a great time
  6. race — the arms race
  7. cold — an illness
  8. sharp — clever
  9. ball — a dance
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. mate — a partner
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. mate — a friend
  19. game — a match
  20. mate — to breed
  21. bark — to shout
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. game — wild animals
  24. cold — not warm

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