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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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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 · rest · tube · perch · rash · bark · bowl · nail

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  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. bowl — a dish
  2. perch — the fish
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. tube — the underground
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rash — a series
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. race — the arms race
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. rest — a break
  14. bark — to shout
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — a container
  19. rest — what's left
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. race — humankind
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. bowl — to roll
  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