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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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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: current · object · pop · race · bat · bark · spell · swing

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bat — the animal
  6. spell — magic
  7. object — an aim
  8. swing — in golf
  9. object — to protest
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. race — the arms race
  12. current — happening now
  13. pop — to visit
  14. race — humankind
  15. swing — music
  16. pop — soda
  17. race — a contest
  18. current — of water
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. pop — music
  21. object — a thing
  22. spell — a short time
  23. current — electric
  24. spell — letters

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