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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: wind · squash · race · arm · wound · mate · straw · charge

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mate — to breed
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. race — humankind
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. charge — electricity
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. charge — a price
  12. squash — the sport
  13. wound — an injury
  14. race — a contest
  15. charge — in control
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. wound — an injury
  19. mate — a friend
  20. mate — a partner
  21. squash — to crush
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. wind — moving air

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