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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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Word bank
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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: straw · fan · stem · race · wind · staff · bear · shower

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. shower — rain
  6. race — the arms race
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. wind — moving air
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. staff — employees
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. staff — employees
  16. race — a contest
  17. bear — the animal
  18. stem — to come from
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. staff — a stick
  21. shower — to wash
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. bear — the animal
  24. race — humankind

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