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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 120 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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  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. race — a contest
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. kick — in football
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. bark — to shout
  8. current — electric
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. hand — help
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. prune — to trim
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. race — the arms race
  16. current — happening now
  17. squash — the sport
  18. current — of water
  19. prune — to trim
  20. race — humankind
  21. hand — in cards
  22. squash — to crush
  23. straw — dry grass
  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