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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 116 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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Word bank
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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: band · race · club · lean · row · mug · game · bark

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — wild animals
  3. band — a ring
  4. race — a contest
  5. club — for golf
  6. game — a match
  7. lean — to bend
  8. bark — to shout
  9. mug — to rob
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. race — the arms race
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. club — a group
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. row — a line
  16. lean — thin
  17. row — to paddle
  18. race — humankind
  19. mug — a face
  20. band — a music group
  21. club — for dancing
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. mug — a cup

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