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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: wound · cap · toast · rock · prune · game · bark · race

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. cap — a lid
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. cap — a hat
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. race — the arms race
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. race — humankind
  10. wound — an injury
  11. rock — music
  12. rock — a stone
  13. prune — to trim
  14. race — a contest
  15. toast — bread
  16. wound — an injury
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. game — wild animals
  19. prune — to trim
  20. game — a match
  21. bark — to shout
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. cap — of ice
  24. toast — the most admired

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