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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. clip — a video
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. swing — to play on
  8. race — humankind
  9. swing — music
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. swing — in golf
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. spring — of water
  14. clip — for paper
  15. race — the arms race
  16. sharp — clever
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. spring — a coil
  19. wind — moving air
  20. stand — to bear
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. clip — to cut
  23. spring — the season
  24. wind — moving air

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