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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: race · perch · lean · rash · content · straw

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. rash — hasty
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. content — happy
  9. race — a contest
  10. lean — to bend
  11. race — the arms race
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. content — the amount
  14. lean — thin
  15. rash — a series
  16. perch — the fish
  17. race — humankind
  18. perch — for a bird

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