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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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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: straw · race · mate · row · spell · bowl · current · kid

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. mate — to breed
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — a line
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. race — the arms race
  8. current — of water
  9. spell — a short time
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. spell — magic
  12. mate — a friend
  13. row — to paddle
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — to tease
  16. current — electric
  17. current — happening now
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. mate — a partner
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. race — a contest
  23. spell — letters
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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