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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: straw · pass · key · race · wake · cell

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. cell — in biology
  8. key — the most important part
  9. race — a contest
  10. key — for a lock
  11. pass — a permit
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. cell — a phone
  14. race — the arms race
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. wake — a trail
  17. key — in music
  18. race — humankind

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