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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 120 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: club · rash · sharp · stick · mate · bark · bat · race

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. mate — a friend
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. race — humankind
  7. rash — a series
  8. club — for golf
  9. mate — to breed
  10. bat — the animal
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. club — for dancing
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. club — a group
  19. sharp — clever
  20. rash — hasty
  21. mate — a partner
  22. race — a contest
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. sharp — with an edge

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