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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. drill — a practice
  6. bark — to shout
  7. drill — army training
  8. stand — to bear
  9. band — a music group
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. race — the arms race
  12. perch — the fish
  13. race — a contest
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. race — humankind
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. band — a ring
  24. drill — the tool

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