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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 116 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: lean · wind · track · cap · spell · straw · pitch · race

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — magic
  5. track — a song
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. race — a contest
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cap — a hat
  14. track — a path
  15. spell — a short time
  16. race — the arms race
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cap — of ice
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. lean — thin
  22. track — to keep track
  23. race — humankind
  24. wind — moving air

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