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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: bank · straw · squash · race · fall · march

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. march — music
  3. race — humankind
  4. race — a contest
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. fall — to drop
  7. squash — the sport
  8. bank — of a river
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. fall — to drop
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. bank — for money
  15. race — the arms race
  16. fall — the season
  17. bank — for money
  18. squash — to crush

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