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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: fine · race · bark · shower · straw · swing · snap · bass

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  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. fine — a penalty
  2. fine — all right
  3. swing — music
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. snap — to click
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. swing — in golf
  9. bass — low music
  10. shower — to wash
  11. swing — to play on
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. race — humankind
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bass — the fish
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. race — the arms race
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. fine — high quality
  20. shower — rain
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  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