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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. bass — the fish
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bass — low music
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. race — humankind
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. race — the arms race
  11. kid — child
  12. hand — help
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bark — to shout

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