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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: mine · race · bat · bark · rock · branch · ball · kid

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. rock — a stone
  3. race — a contest
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. race — the arms race
  7. ball — a great time
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. bark — to shout
  13. branch — a division
  14. kid — child
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bat — the animal
  19. mine — for digging
  20. rock — music
  21. race — humankind
  22. ball — a dance
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. mine — an explosive

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