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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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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 · wind · kid · spring · key · stick

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. race — a contest
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. kid — to tease
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. key — in music
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. kid — child
  11. key — the most important part
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. spring — of water
  14. wind — moving air
  15. race — humankind
  16. key — for a lock
  17. spring — the season
  18. race — the arms race

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