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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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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. shower — to wash
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. present — the time now
  5. pit — in a race
  6. ball — a great time
  7. pit — a hole
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. bound — certain
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. present — a gift
  12. kid — to tease
  13. race — humankind
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — tied together
  17. race — a contest
  18. shower — rain
  19. present — there
  20. bark — to shout
  21. kid — child
  22. ball — a dance
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. race — the arms 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