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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: rock · race · perch · straw · mouse · bark · nail · last

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. last — to go on
  4. race — humankind
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. last — final
  7. rock — music
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — the arms race
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. last — finally
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. bark — to shout
  17. perch — the fish
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. rock — a stone
  24. straw — a straw man

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