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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 120 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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. tear — to rip
  6. bark — to shout
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — a contest
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. tear — from crying
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. content — the amount
  17. capital — a city
  18. race — humankind
  19. content — happy
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. capital — money
  23. tear — from crying
  24. hand — help

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