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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: track · race · dip · wind · snap · pitcher · straw · cabinet

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. track — a path
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. race — humankind
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. wind — moving air
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. track — to keep track
  14. track — a song
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. race — the arms race
  19. dip — to sink
  20. snap — to click
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. race — a contest
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. cabinet — ministers

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