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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 ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. race — a contest
  4. lean — thin
  5. fall — the season
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a music group
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. fall — to drop
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. chip — for betting
  16. chip — to eat
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. lean — to bend
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. race — humankind

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