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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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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: bound · fork · cold · race · net · straw · cap · mark

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. cap — of ice
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. race — a contest
  5. bound — obliged
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. cap — a lid
  8. fork — in a road
  9. net — for catching
  10. mark — a grade
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bound — certain
  14. mark — a trace
  15. net — in sport
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — humankind
  22. cap — a hat
  23. net — after costs
  24. bound — tied together

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