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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: rash · mug · row · kick · deal · race · bark · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  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. kid — to tease
  2. mug — a cup
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. rash — a series
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — humankind
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. mug — to rob
  10. row — a line
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. kick — in football
  14. rash — hasty
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. deal — to handle
  17. kid — child
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. row — to paddle
  20. mug — a face
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. race — the arms race
  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