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

Word bank: bowl · lie · shower · bark · cue · race · wake · tear

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. race — the arms race
  5. tear — from crying
  6. shower — to wash
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. cue — for pool
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. cue — a hint
  12. race — a contest
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. cue — a signal
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wake — a trail
  19. bark — to shout
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — to recline
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. shower — rain

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