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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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Word bank
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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: press · track · mine · race · firm · tear · last · bark

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. firm — a company
  3. press — to push
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. tear — from crying
  8. race — humankind
  9. firm — decided
  10. last — finally
  11. press — newspapers
  12. track — a path
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bark — to shout
  15. last — final
  16. race — a contest
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. press — a publisher
  19. track — to keep track
  20. track — a song
  21. race — the arms race
  22. last — to go on
  23. firm — steady
  24. tear — from crying

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