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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. race — humankind
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. plane — a tool
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. race — a contest
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. fine — high quality
  11. stand — to bear
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. bark — to shout
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. race — the arms race
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. mine — for digging
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. wound — an injury
  24. straw — dry grass

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