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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. mark — a grade
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. clip — for paper
  6. tear — from crying
  7. kid — child
  8. race — humankind
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. tear — to rip
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. rest — a break
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bark — to shout
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. rest — what's left
  19. clip — a video
  20. rest — what's left
  21. kid — to tease
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. race — a contest

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