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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: plane · race · cell · cap · bark · snap · swing · straw

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. snap — to click
  4. cap — a lid
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. race — a contest
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — in biology
  10. plane — a tool
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cell — a phone
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. swing — in golf
  18. race — the arms race
  19. swing — music
  20. bark — to shout
  21. race — humankind
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. swing — to play on
  24. cap — of ice

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