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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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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: bay · drill · straw · pop · race · rest · mine · fork

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. mine — for digging
  4. drill — the tool
  5. rest — a break
  6. drill — army training
  7. rest — what's left
  8. race — a contest
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. race — the arms race
  15. pop — soda
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. pop — to visit
  19. drill — a practice
  20. rest — what's left
  21. fork — in a road
  22. pop — music
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. straw — dry grass

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