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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: roll · can · race · rash · bark · field · chair · drill

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. race — the arms race
  4. bark — to shout
  5. drill — army training
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. roll — a cake
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. drill — the tool
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. rash — hasty
  12. can — a tin
  13. rash — a series
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. roll — a list
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — for sport
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. field — a subject
  20. can — to be able to
  21. chair — a leader
  22. race — humankind
  23. drill — a practice
  24. can — a tin

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