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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: race · can · chair · rest · content · net · straw · mate

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. race — a contest
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. rest — a break
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. can — a tin
  9. chair — a leader
  10. rest — what's left
  11. net — for catching
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. content — happy
  14. net — after costs
  15. mate — to breed
  16. can — a tin
  17. rest — what's left
  18. net — in sport
  19. mate — a friend
  20. content — the amount
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. can — to be able to
  23. mate — a partner
  24. race — the arms race

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