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

Word bank: snap · kick · race · drill · bark · tear

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. drill — army training
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. drill — the tool
  5. bark — to shout
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. race — the arms race
  8. tear — from crying
  9. race — humankind
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. kick — in football
  13. tear — from crying
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. drill — a practice
  16. snap — to click
  17. race — a contest
  18. tear — to rip

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