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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: bear · cap · mine · race · foot · kid · straw · spell

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. spell — letters
  3. foot — a measure
  4. kid — child
  5. mine — for digging
  6. cap — of ice
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. spell — magic
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bear — the animal
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bear — the animal
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. spell — a short time
  17. kid — to tease
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. cap — a lid
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. race — humankind
  22. cap — a hat
  23. race — a contest
  24. mine — belonging to me

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