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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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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: row · race · hide · club · hand · bark · last · wave

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — the arms race
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. club — for dancing
  6. last — final
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. last — finally
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. row — a line
  14. club — for golf
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. row — to paddle
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. hand — help
  21. bark — to shout
  22. club — a group
  23. race — humankind
  24. last — to go on

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