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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: lie · shower · rash · race · wake · object · bark · cold

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. rash — a series
  3. object — a thing
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. object — to protest
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. shower — to wash
  8. lie — to recline
  9. race — a contest
  10. bark — to shout
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. shower — rain
  14. cold — not warm
  15. object — an aim
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — an illness
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. rash — hasty
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. wake — a trail
  24. race — the arms race

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