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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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Word bank
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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 · lean · game · track · pass · pop · band · race

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. game — a match
  4. lean — thin
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. pass — a permit
  8. pop — to visit
  9. track — a path
  10. game — wild animals
  11. race — humankind
  12. pop — music
  13. track — a song
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a music group
  19. track — to keep track
  20. race — the arms race
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. race — a contest
  23. pop — soda
  24. lean — to bend

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