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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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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: stand · content · straw · race · mine · mug · club · spring

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mug — a face
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. club — for dancing
  6. spring — a coil
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. spring — of water
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. race — a contest
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. club — for golf
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — humankind
  15. content — happy
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. club — a group
  19. spring — the season
  20. mug — a cup
  21. mug — to rob
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. stand — to bear
  24. content — the amount

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