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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: race · cap · coach · kick · bay · bark · sharp · bowl

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. cap — a hat
  4. race — humankind
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — in football
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cap — a lid
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. bark — to shout
  16. cap — of ice
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. sharp — clever
  21. race — a contest
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. race — the arms race
  24. sharp — exactly

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