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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: drill · ruler · bark · fine · staff · content · race · cold

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. cold — an illness
  3. race — humankind
  4. bark — to shout
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. fine — all right
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. drill — a practice
  9. content — the amount
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. drill — the tool
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. drill — army training
  15. race — a contest
  16. staff — employees
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. staff — a stick
  22. staff — employees
  23. content — happy
  24. fine — high quality

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