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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. band — a ring
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — for sport
  6. land — to come down
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. field — farmland
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. shower — to wash
  12. pit — a hole
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. race — the arms race
  15. lie — to recline
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — a contest
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. land — ground
  21. land — a country
  22. pit — in a race
  23. band — a music group
  24. bark — to shout

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