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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: wound · race · fall · season · arm · straw · bound · hand

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. fall — the season
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. season — of the year
  8. bound — obliged
  9. wound — an injury
  10. hand — in cards
  11. fall — to drop
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. bound — certain
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bound — tied together
  17. season — in sport
  18. wound — an injury
  19. hand — help
  20. race — humankind
  21. fall — to drop
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. race — the arms race

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