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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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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: bat · can · coach · cue · shower · race · bark · straw

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. shower — to wash
  4. cue — for pool
  5. bark — to shout
  6. race — the arms race
  7. bat — the animal
  8. cue — a hint
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. cue — a signal
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. race — humankind
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. race — a contest
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. can — to be able to
  22. can — a tin
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. shower — rain

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