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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: sharp · temple · land · straw · board · race · bark · pitcher

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. board — to get on
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. land — ground
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — clever
  9. race — a contest
  10. land — a country
  11. bark — to shout
  12. race — the arms race
  13. land — to come down
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. race — humankind
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. board — a committee

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