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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: club · tear · last · ball · race · bark · straw · fork

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. tear — to rip
  3. club — a group
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. last — to go on
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. race — humankind
  9. club — for golf
  10. race — a contest
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. last — final
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. last — finally
  15. bark — to shout
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fork — in a road
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. tear — from crying
  20. ball — a dance
  21. tear — from crying
  22. ball — a great time
  23. race — the arms race
  24. club — for dancing

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