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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: kid · race · calf · straw · wound · date · track · season

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. kid — child
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. kid — to tease
  6. race — the arms race
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. wound — an injury
  10. track — a path
  11. race — a contest
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. season — of the year
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. track — a song
  16. race — humankind
  17. date — the fruit
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. wound — an injury
  23. season — in sport
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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