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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: stick · tear · club · race · wound · mouse

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. race — humankind
  3. race — a contest
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. club — for dancing
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wound — an injury
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. tear — to rip
  11. club — for golf
  12. race — the arms race
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. tear — from crying
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. mouse — the animal

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