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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. wind — moving air
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bulb — for light
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. band — a music group
  8. race — a contest
  9. track — to keep track
  10. race — humankind
  11. band — a ring
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bulb — for light
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. track — a path
  19. track — a song
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. wind — moving air
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. race — the arms race

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