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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: kid · race · track · fan · press · straw · nail · foot

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. race — humankind
  5. race — a contest
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. foot — a measure
  8. press — a publisher
  9. track — to keep track
  10. press — to push
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. track — a path
  15. kid — to tease
  16. press — newspapers
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. race — the arms race
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. track — a song
  24. straw — a straw man

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