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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. race — humankind
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. club — for dancing
  5. race — a contest
  6. mark — a grade
  7. club — a group
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. file — a document
  10. mark — a trace
  11. kid — child
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. file — a line of people
  14. race — the arms race
  15. bark — to shout
  16. file — a tool
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. club — for golf
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. kid — to tease
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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