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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 · ball · wind · toast · spring · race · hide · fan

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. spring — a coil
  5. ball — a great time
  6. race — the arms race
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. race — a contest
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. spring — of water
  11. toast — bread
  12. wind — moving air
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. race — humankind
  18. ball — a dance
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. spring — the season
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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