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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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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: chip · safe · pop · bat · mine · straw · race · bowl

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. chip — for betting
  6. pop — music
  7. race — humankind
  8. pop — to visit
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. race — the arms race
  22. pop — soda
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. chip — to eat

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