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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: object · racket · pound · straw · race · board · file · spring

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. race — humankind
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. board — to get on
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. race — a contest
  7. object — an aim
  8. race — the arms race
  9. pound — a weight
  10. spring — a coil
  11. file — a line of people
  12. spring — of water
  13. object — a thing
  14. spring — the season
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. board — a committee
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. file — a document
  21. object — to protest
  22. file — a tool
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. pound — to hit hard

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