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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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Word bank
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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: straw · rash · capital · wind · toast · race

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. capital — money
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. capital — a city
  7. race — a contest
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. wind — moving air
  12. race — the arms race
  13. rash — a series
  14. toast — bread
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. rash — hasty
  17. race — humankind
  18. straw — to clutch at straws

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