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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: staff · scale · rock · mate · straw · race · rash · bound

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. race — the arms race
  5. staff — employees
  6. scale — size or range
  7. rock — music
  8. bound — certain
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. mate — a friend
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — tied together
  14. rock — a stone
  15. mate — to breed
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. mate — a partner
  18. rash — a series
  19. staff — a stick
  20. staff — employees
  21. race — humankind
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. scale — in music

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