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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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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. fall — the season
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. pound — a weight
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. season — of the year
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. wound — an injury
  16. race — humankind
  17. fall — to drop
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. fall — to drop
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. shower — to wash
  22. season — in sport
  23. race — the arms race
  24. cabinet — ministers

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