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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 120 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: leaves · wound · charge · tear · bark · chip · race · game

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. charge — electricity
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bark — to shout
  7. tear — to rip
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. charge — in control
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — a match
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — humankind
  18. chip — for betting
  19. chip — to eat
  20. game — wild animals
  21. tear — from crying
  22. race — the arms race
  23. charge — a price
  24. wound — an injury

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