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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 120 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: straw · fine · squash · race · bank · nail · cap · track

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. bank — for money
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. fine — all right
  5. cap — a hat
  6. track — to keep track
  7. squash — the sport
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. track — a song
  10. cap — of ice
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. race — humankind
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. squash — to crush
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bank — for money
  18. race — a contest
  19. cap — a lid
  20. bank — of a river
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. race — the arms race
  24. track — a path

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