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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. race — a contest
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a music group
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. race — humankind
  9. wake — a trail
  10. bark — to shout
  11. deal — to handle
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. swing — music
  16. swing — to play on
  17. race — the arms race
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. swing — in golf
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. straw — a straw man

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