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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — humankind
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. fine — all right
  7. content — the amount
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. fine — high quality
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. rule — government
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. rule — a law
  19. bark — to shout
  20. race — the arms race
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. leaves — of a tree

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