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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 · craft · clip · straw · club · track

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — a group
  4. track — a path
  5. track — a song
  6. race — the arms race
  7. clip — to cut
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. race — a contest
  10. craft — boats
  11. track — to keep track
  12. club — for dancing
  13. race — humankind
  14. clip — a video
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. clip — for paper
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. craft — a skill

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