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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: perch · rest · club · bark · race · rock · spring · wax

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. perch — the fish
  3. club — for dancing
  4. race — a contest
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. race — humankind
  7. bark — to shout
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. rest — a break
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. spring — the season
  13. rest — what's left
  14. club — a group
  15. spring — a coil
  16. race — the arms race
  17. club — for golf
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. wax — to grow
  21. rock — music
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rock — a stone
  24. spring — of water

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