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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: ball · shower · rest · club · race · content · bark · mate

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  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. mate — to breed
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. club — for golf
  4. shower — to wash
  5. content — the amount
  6. club — for dancing
  7. shower — rain
  8. race — a contest
  9. club — a group
  10. bark — to shout
  11. rest — what's left
  12. content — happy
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. rest — a break
  16. ball — a great time
  17. ball — a dance
  18. mate — a partner
  19. race — humankind
  20. rest — what's left
  21. mate — a friend
  22. race — the arms race
  23. ball — a round shape
  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