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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. race — a contest
  3. club — a group
  4. race — humankind
  5. land — ground
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. kick — in football
  8. land — a country
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. club — for dancing
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. club — for golf
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. roll — a list
  15. race — the arms race
  16. sharp — clever
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. roll — a cake
  22. land — to come down
  23. bark — to shout
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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