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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. club — for dancing
  5. bear — the animal
  6. cold — an illness
  7. track — a path
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. club — for golf
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. row — to paddle
  14. race — a contest
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bark — to shout
  17. race — humankind
  18. content — happy
  19. bear — the animal
  20. row — a line
  21. track — a song
  22. track — to keep track
  23. club — a group
  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