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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: bass · ruler · fine · chest · bore · sharp · race · bark

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. chest — of your body
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. bark — to shout
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. chest — a box
  11. bass — low music
  12. fine — all right
  13. chest — of your body
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. race — humankind
  16. bass — the fish
  17. race — a contest
  18. sharp — clever
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. bore — to drill
  22. race — the arms race
  23. bore — to tire
  24. sharp — with an edge

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