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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: bark · snap · racket · race · rule · land

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. bark — to shout
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. land — ground
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. rule — government
  10. race — a contest
  11. race — humankind
  12. race — the arms race
  13. rule — a law
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. land — a country
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. racket — for tennis

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