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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: lie · straw · kick · chest · race · season · bowl · squash

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. kick — in football
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. chest — of your body
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. squash — to crush
  9. race — a contest
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. lie — to recline
  12. season — in sport
  13. squash — the sport
  14. chest — of your body
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. race — the arms race
  19. race — humankind
  20. season — of the year
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. chest — a box

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