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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. rash — hasty
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. wake — a trail
  5. bark — to shout
  6. cap — of ice
  7. race — a contest
  8. cap — a hat
  9. bass — low music
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. cap — a lid
  14. swing — to play on
  15. swing — in golf
  16. mug — a cup
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. race — the arms race
  19. bass — the fish
  20. swing — music
  21. mug — to rob
  22. race — humankind
  23. rash — a series
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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