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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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Word bank
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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: race · bat · calf · bark · drill · plane · lash · chest

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. race — the arms race
  3. chest — a box
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. race — humankind
  7. bark — to shout
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — the animal
  14. plane — a tool
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. drill — a practice
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. drill — the tool
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. chest — of your body
  23. race — a contest
  24. drill — army training

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