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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: race · straw · tube · march · bank · clip

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. race — the arms race
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. race — a contest
  7. tube — the underground
  8. bank — of a river
  9. march — music
  10. clip — to cut
  11. race — humankind
  12. march — the month
  13. tube — a container
  14. march — the month
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — a video
  17. bank — for money
  18. bank — for money

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