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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 120 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: bark · bear · branch · cap · race · spell · pop · kid

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. kid — to tease
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. pop — music
  5. cap — a hat
  6. kid — child
  7. race — a contest
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. spell — letters
  11. branch — a division
  12. bear — the animal
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. spell — magic
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pop — soda
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. race — humankind
  22. cap — a lid
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cap — of ice

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