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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. file — a document
  6. cell — a phone
  7. hand — help
  8. file — a line of people
  9. hand — in cards
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. prune — to trim
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. board — a committee
  17. board — to get on
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. bark — to shout
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — the arms race
  24. file — a tool

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