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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 hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. spring — a coil
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. race — the arms race
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. pop — soda
  9. race — humankind
  10. bark — to shout
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — of water
  13. wind — moving air
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. pop — to visit
  16. row — a line
  17. race — a contest
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. row — to paddle
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. pop — music
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. wind — moving air

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