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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: race · racket · content · coach · rash · wind · bark · pound

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. race — the arms race
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. pound — a weight
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. content — happy
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. rash — a series
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. content — the amount
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bark — to shout
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. race — humankind
  23. rash — hasty
  24. wind — moving air

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