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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: key · bark · bat · root · pop · firm · kid · arm

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. pop — to visit
  3. kid — to tease
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. key — the most important part
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. pop — music
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. root — of a word
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. firm — a company
  15. key — for a lock
  16. pop — soda
  17. firm — decided
  18. root — of a plant
  19. kid — child
  20. firm — steady
  21. root — the cause
  22. bark — to shout
  23. key — in music
  24. bark — of a tree

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