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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. court — of law
  3. spring — the season
  4. row — to paddle
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. spring — of water
  7. row — a line
  8. race — the arms race
  9. wound — an injury
  10. rash — hasty
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — humankind
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. board — a committee
  16. spring — a coil
  17. board — to get on
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. rash — a series
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — for sport
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. wound — an injury
  24. rash — on the skin

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