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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. race — humankind
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. race — a contest
  6. field — farmland
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. field — a subject
  10. cold — not warm
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a ring
  14. race — the arms race
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. field — for sport
  22. wind — moving air
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. cold — an illness

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