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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 · object · hide · race · pass · track · row · spring

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. race — humankind
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. spring — a coil
  9. object — to protest
  10. row — to paddle
  11. race — the arms race
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. track — a song
  15. race — a contest
  16. spring — of water
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. object — an aim
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. spring — the season
  21. object — a thing
  22. row — a line
  23. track — to keep track
  24. track — a path

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