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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: band · race · straw · bark · cap · perch · squash · bound

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. bound — certain
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. cap — a lid
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. squash — the sport
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bark — to shout
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — a contest
  15. race — humankind
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cap — a hat
  18. band — a ring
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. cap — of ice
  21. squash — to crush
  22. perch — the fish
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bound — tied together

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