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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. bark — to shout
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. race — a contest
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. chip — to eat
  9. chip — for betting
  10. mark — a grade
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. band — a music group
  15. race — humankind
  16. mark — a trace
  17. lean — to bend
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. content — the amount
  20. race — the arms race
  21. content — happy
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a ring
  24. content — videos and posts

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