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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: bark · rush · calf · chair · last · race · kick · cap

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. cap — of ice
  4. last — final
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. rush — hurry
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. race — the arms race
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. race — a contest
  12. cap — a hat
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. last — finally
  15. cap — a lid
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. bark — to shout
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. chair — a leader
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. last — to go on
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. kick — in football

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