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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. spell — magic
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. race — humankind
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bark — to shout
  8. race — a contest
  9. bound — obliged
  10. bound — tied together
  11. spell — letters
  12. spell — a short time
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. last — to go on
  17. prune — to trim
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. last — final
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. race — the arms race
  23. bound — certain
  24. bark — 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