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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: spring · straw · bay · mate · race · tube

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. race — the arms race
  5. mate — a partner
  6. spring — of water
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. mate — to breed
  9. race — humankind
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — a coil
  13. mate — a friend
  14. tube — a container
  15. race — a contest
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — a straw man

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