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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rash · field · clip · straw · mine · key · race · ball

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. key — the most important part
  5. race — the arms race
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. field — for sport
  10. clip — for paper
  11. rash — hasty
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. race — humankind
  16. field — a subject
  17. key — for a lock
  18. mine — for digging
  19. field — farmland
  20. ball — a great time
  21. race — a contest
  22. key — in music
  23. rash — a series
  24. ball — a dance

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