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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: ball · scale · bark · race · kid · arm · firm · deal

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. ball — a great time
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. firm — a company
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. race — humankind
  8. ball — a dance
  9. deal — to handle
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. race — a contest
  12. firm — decided
  13. firm — steady
  14. bark — to shout
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. race — the arms race
  17. scale — size or range
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. scale — in music
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kid — child

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