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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 120 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: race · straw · rash · arm · fall · row · rush · field

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  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. rash — a series
  2. field — a subject
  3. row — to paddle
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. race — a contest
  8. field — farmland
  9. fall — the season
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. row — a line
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. fall — to drop
  14. rush — hurry
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. field — for sport
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. rash — hasty
  20. fall — to drop
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. race — humankind
  23. straw — dry grass
  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