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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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — help
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. toast — bread
  6. last — to go on
  7. race — a contest
  8. last — finally
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. bark — to shout
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. scale — size or range
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. last — final
  16. race — the arms race
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. deal — to handle
  20. race — humankind
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. hand — in cards
  23. scale — in music
  24. bark — of a tree

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