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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: chair · march · bark · key · race · kick

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. march — the month
  3. key — the most important part
  4. race — a contest
  5. march — music
  6. race — the arms race
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — to shout
  9. kick — in football
  10. march — the month
  11. key — for a lock
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. race — humankind
  14. key — in music
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. bark — a dog's sound

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