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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: race · chair · last · straw · wave · tear · nail · rash

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. 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. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. rash — hasty
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. last — final
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — a contest
  10. last — to go on
  11. rash — a series
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. tear — to rip
  14. chair — a leader
  15. race — humankind
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. last — finally
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. 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