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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  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. bark — to shout
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. rule — government
  4. fork — in a road
  5. rock — music
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. rock — a stone
  8. perch — the fish
  9. rule — a law
  10. cold — not warm
  11. race — the arms race
  12. cold — an illness
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. race — a contest
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. tube — the underground
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. tube — a container
  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