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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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Word bank
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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: pop · bark · chest · game · track · ball · fine · race

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. chest — of your body
  4. track — a song
  5. pop — soda
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. chest — a box
  9. pop — music
  10. race — a contest
  11. track — to keep track
  12. game — a match
  13. race — humankind
  14. fine — high quality
  15. race — the arms race
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a great time
  19. pop — to visit
  20. game — wild animals
  21. fine — all right
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. track — a path
  24. chest — of your body

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