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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. race — the arms race
  5. field — farmland
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — of a river
  10. bank — for money
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. capital — money
  14. tear — from crying
  15. field — for sport
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. branch — a division
  19. race — humankind
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. race — a contest
  22. field — a subject
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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