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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. tube — the underground
  3. board — a committee
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — in biology
  7. wake — a trail
  8. race — a contest
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. board — to get on
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. kid — to tease
  16. cell — a phone
  17. chair — a leader
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. race — the arms race
  20. tube — a container
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. kid — child
  23. race — humankind
  24. chair — to sit on

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