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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: date · fan · bark · branch · race · pit · firm · row

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. race — a contest
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. firm — steady
  6. bark — to shout
  7. pit — a hole
  8. branch — a division
  9. date — the fruit
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. firm — a company
  12. row — a line
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. firm — decided
  18. race — the arms race
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. row — to paddle
  23. race — humankind
  24. pit — in a 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