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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 124 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stand · cabinet · mouse · race · bark · tear

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. race — humankind
  4. race — a contest
  5. bark — to shout
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. stand — to bear
  10. race — the arms race
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. tear — from crying
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. tear — to rip
  18. bark — a dog's sound

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