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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: rash · snap · game · club · cell · straw · race · object

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. object — a thing
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. snap — to click
  8. club — a group
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. cell — in biology
  11. game — wild animals
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. object — to protest
  14. race — the arms race
  15. rash — hasty
  16. race — humankind
  17. club — for dancing
  18. game — a match
  19. club — for golf
  20. race — a contest
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. object — an aim
  23. rash — a series
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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