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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: race · straw · rock · spring · ruler · nail · saw · last

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. last — final
  3. race — the arms race
  4. race — humankind
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. rock — a stone
  9. rock — music
  10. last — to go on
  11. spring — a coil
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. spring — the season
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. saw — the tool
  17. last — finally
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. saw — the tool
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. race — a contest
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. spring — of water

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