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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: race · net · bass · straw · hand · tear · trunk · calf

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. bass — low music
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bass — the fish
  5. tear — from crying
  6. net — in sport
  7. race — humankind
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. net — after costs
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. tear — to rip
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. hand — help
  19. race — the arms race
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. net — for catching
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. hand — in cards
  24. race — a contest

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