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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: wound · kid · net · race · snap · straw · chair · board

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. race — the arms race
  3. net — after costs
  4. kid — child
  5. net — for catching
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — to get on
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. board — a committee
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. race — a contest
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. wound — an injury
  18. race — humankind
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. chair — a leader
  22. net — in sport
  23. wound — an injury
  24. kid — to tease

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