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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 116 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: wave · club · race · lean · board · game · straw · cold

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. cold — an illness
  4. race — a contest
  5. game — wild animals
  6. race — humankind
  7. lean — thin
  8. board — to get on
  9. game — a match
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. race — the arms race
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. lean — to bend
  14. board — a committee
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. club — for dancing
  20. club — for golf
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. club — a group
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. cold — not warm

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