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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: rush · saw · straw · hand · race · pound · track · leaves

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. rush — hurry
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. track — to keep track
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. saw — the tool
  9. race — a contest
  10. hand — in cards
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. saw — the tool
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pound — a weight
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. race — humankind
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. track — a song
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. race — the arms race
  24. hand — help

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