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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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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 · net · wind · rash · tube · temple · game · race

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. game — wild animals
  4. tube — the underground
  5. rash — a series
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — a contest
  8. net — in sport
  9. wind — moving air
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. race — humankind
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — a container
  16. rash — hasty
  17. wind — moving air
  18. net — for catching
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. game — a match

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