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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 116 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: wind · race · bark · mouse · mate · game · cold · present

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. game — a match
  3. race — the arms race
  4. bark — to shout
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cold — an illness
  7. mate — a friend
  8. present — there
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. present — a gift
  11. mate — to breed
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. cold — not warm
  14. race — a contest
  15. wind — moving air
  16. present — the time now
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. game — wild animals
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. mate — a partner
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. race — humankind

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