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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — humankind
  7. wind — moving air
  8. content — happy
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. branch — a division
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. tear — to rip
  16. race — a contest
  17. tear — from crying
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. stand — to bear
  20. wind — moving air
  21. tear — from crying
  22. content — the amount
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. dip — to sink

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