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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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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: race · bark · bay · bowl · game · mouse · kid · chest

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. race — humankind
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. chest — of your body
  5. race — a contest
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — a match
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. chest — of your body
  16. race — the arms race
  17. kid — child
  18. chest — a box
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. game — wild animals
  21. kid — to tease
  22. bark — to shout
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bowl — to roll

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