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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: fall · cold · race · lean · straw · wake · cue · object

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. fall — to drop
  3. race — a contest
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cue — for pool
  6. object — a thing
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cue — a hint
  9. lean — to bend
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. fall — the season
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. cue — a signal
  15. object — an aim
  16. race — humankind
  17. cold — an illness
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. lean — thin
  20. object — to protest
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — a trail
  24. straw — dry grass

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