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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  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. rash — hasty
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. can — to be able to
  5. snap — to click
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. race — the arms race
  9. scale — in music
  10. can — a tin
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. tube — the underground
  13. rash — a series
  14. tube — a container
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. scale — size or range
  19. can — a tin
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — humankind
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. bark — of a tree
  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