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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: fan · game · spring · race · bay · stick · land · straw

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. spring — of water
  4. game — wild animals
  5. race — the arms race
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — the season
  11. race — humankind
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — a match
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. land — to come down
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. race — a contest
  24. land — ground

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