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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 · swing · chair · rock · sharp · leaves · bank

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. race — the arms race
  4. swing — to play on
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. chair — a leader
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. swing — in golf
  12. bank — for money
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. race — a contest
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rock — music
  18. swing — music
  19. bank — for money
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. bank — of a river
  22. race — humankind
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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