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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: club · tear · last · ball · race · bark

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. club — a group
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. race — a contest
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. ball — a dance
  8. race — humankind
  9. bark — to shout
  10. race — the arms race
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. ball — a great time
  13. club — for golf
  14. last — to go on
  15. tear — to rip
  16. last — final
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. club — for dancing

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