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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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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: rash · wake · staff · firm · deal · spring · straw · race

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. firm — decided
  3. race — humankind
  4. staff — employees
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. staff — a stick
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rash — hasty
  9. spring — a coil
  10. firm — steady
  11. spring — of water
  12. wake — a trail
  13. spring — the season
  14. rash — a series
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. race — the arms race
  21. deal — to handle
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. firm — a company
  24. race — a contest

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