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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: drill · straw · present · race · board · track · bark · swing

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. board — to get on
  4. drill — the tool
  5. drill — a practice
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. swing — music
  8. race — humankind
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. race — a contest
  11. bark — to shout
  12. track — to keep track
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. present — a gift
  16. drill — army training
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. board — a committee
  19. swing — in golf
  20. track — a path
  21. track — a song
  22. race — the arms race
  23. present — the time now
  24. present — there

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