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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 was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. perch — the fish
  3. race — the arms race
  4. saw — the tool
  5. season — of the year
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. wind — moving air
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. season — in sport
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. board — to get on
  13. hand — in cards
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. hand — help
  18. race — a contest
  19. board — a committee
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. race — humankind
  24. straw — dry grass

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