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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: present · squash · mug · bat · fall · track · bark · race

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. race — a contest
  3. present — the time now
  4. fall — the season
  5. race — the arms race
  6. bark — to shout
  7. track — to keep track
  8. fall — to drop
  9. mug — a cup
  10. mug — to rob
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. mug — a face
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. track — a song
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — to crush
  17. race — humankind
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. present — there
  20. track — a path
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. present — a gift

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