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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. race — a contest
  3. court — for sport
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. race — the arms race
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. kid — to tease
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — size or range
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. bark — to shout
  18. kid — child
  19. court — of law
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. court — of a king
  22. race — humankind
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — the tool

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