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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. game — wild animals
  6. race — the arms race
  7. march — music
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bound — certain
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. race — humankind
  13. march — the month
  14. bound — obliged
  15. current — electric
  16. march — the month
  17. current — of water
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. cold — not warm
  21. race — a contest
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. bark — to shout
  24. current — happening now

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