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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: race · wind · file · swing · row · spell · bark · bay

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. wind — moving air
  3. swing — music
  4. race — the arms race
  5. row — to paddle
  6. race — humankind
  7. spell — a short time
  8. file — a tool
  9. race — a contest
  10. row — a line
  11. swing — in golf
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. wind — moving air
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — letters
  17. file — a line of people
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. swing — to play on
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. file — a document

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