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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. kid — to tease
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. content — happy
  7. race — a contest
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. rock — music
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. content — the amount
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. rock — a stone
  16. kid — child
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. race — humankind
  20. chest — a box
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. rush — hurry
  23. race — the arms race
  24. content — videos and posts

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