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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: bear · wind · plane · race · wax · band · game · straw

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. band — a music group
  3. race — a contest
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. bear — the animal
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bear — the animal
  12. race — the arms race
  13. game — a match
  14. race — humankind
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. band — a ring
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. game — wild animals
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. plane — a tool

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