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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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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: fall · stand · squash · bark · rest · race · wake · ball

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. bark — to shout
  4. fall — to drop
  5. rest — a break
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. race — the arms race
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. squash — the sport
  10. wake — a trail
  11. ball — a dance
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. squash — to crush
  14. race — humankind
  15. stand — to bear
  16. rest — what's left
  17. ball — a great time
  18. fall — the season
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. rest — what's left
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. fall — to drop

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