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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 120 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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. race — the arms race
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. cold — an illness
  8. net — after costs
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. land — a country
  12. vault — a safe
  13. land — ground
  14. sharp — clever
  15. pit — in a race
  16. race — a contest
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. net — for catching
  19. land — to come down
  20. cold — not warm
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. net — in sport
  23. race — humankind
  24. bark — to shout

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