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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: straw · race · content · wave · bound · cue · toast · swing

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. race — the arms race
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. bound — obliged
  6. content — happy
  7. bound — certain
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. toast — bread
  10. swing — in golf
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. race — humankind
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. cue — a signal
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. race — a contest
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. cue — for pool
  20. cue — a hint
  21. bound — tied together
  22. swing — music
  23. content — the amount
  24. swing — to play on

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