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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 120 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: mine · straw · race · club · last · foot · press · tear

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. race — humankind
  4. race — a contest
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. tear — from crying
  7. club — for dancing
  8. foot — a measure
  9. press — a publisher
  10. last — finally
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. club — a group
  13. press — to push
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — for digging
  16. last — to go on
  17. tear — from crying
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. last — final
  21. club — for golf
  22. tear — to rip
  23. press — newspapers
  24. foot — the bottom

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