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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  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. track — a song
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. face — part of the head
  5. cap — of ice
  6. face — to point toward
  7. race — a contest
  8. face — to confront
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. rush — hurry
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. bark — to shout
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. track — to keep track
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — a lid
  20. bat — the animal
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. track — a path
  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