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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: game · club · mate · fork · race · straw · racket · calf

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. mate — a friend
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. club — a group
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — to breed
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. game — wild animals
  13. race — a contest
  14. game — a match
  15. race — the arms race
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. club — for dancing
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. club — for golf
  23. fork — in a road
  24. race — humankind

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