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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: pop · bowl · bark · row · hand · race · pit · ground

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. race — humankind
  3. pop — to visit
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. pop — music
  8. bark — to shout
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. row — a line
  13. race — a contest
  14. hand — help
  15. pop — soda
  16. row — to paddle
  17. race — the arms race
  18. ground — crushed
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. ground — the earth
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. ground — a position

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