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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: race · chip · tube · fall · straw · rest · band · rash

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. rash — a series
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. rest — what's left
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — humankind
  9. fall — to drop
  10. tube — a container
  11. rest — what's left
  12. fall — to drop
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. band — a ring
  15. chip — to eat
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rest — a break
  18. chip — for betting
  19. race — a contest
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. band — a music group
  23. tube — the underground
  24. fall — the season

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