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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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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 · shower · club · straw · bark · rush · stem · calf

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. club — for golf
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. shower — to wash
  6. race — a contest
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. bark — to shout
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. race — the arms race
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. stem — to come from
  19. race — humankind
  20. club — a group
  21. shower — rain
  22. rush — hurry
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. club — for dancing

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