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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. race — a contest
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bark — to shout
  6. wound — an injury
  7. degree — an amount
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lean — to bend
  12. dip — to sink
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. wound — an injury
  16. race — the arms race
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. degree — from a university
  19. cell — in biology
  20. lean — thin
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. trunk — of a car

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