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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 116 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: rest · race · face · spring · band · wind · capital · straw

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. spring — of water
  4. rest — a break
  5. face — to point toward
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. race — the arms race
  9. capital — money
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. face — to confront
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a ring
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — what's left
  18. face — part of the head
  19. race — a contest
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — the season
  24. capital — a city

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