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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 · rash · racket · club · race · kid · dip · pop

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. club — for golf
  6. club — a group
  7. kid — child
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. race — the arms race
  11. rash — a series
  12. pop — music
  13. race — a contest
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. pop — to visit
  17. dip — to sink
  18. pop — soda
  19. rash — hasty
  20. club — for dancing
  21. kid — to tease
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. bark — to shout

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