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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 · hand · bark · mouse · pop · degree · rash · wave

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. bark — to shout
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — help
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — to visit
  11. degree — an amount
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — hasty
  14. hand — in cards
  15. degree — from a university
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. race — humankind
  18. race — the arms race
  19. race — a contest
  20. degree — temperature
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. pop — soda

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