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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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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: pound · mine · wake · season · arm · race · straw · march

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. march — the month
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. pound — a weight
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — a contest
  10. wake — a trail
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. mine — for digging
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. march — the month
  16. race — the arms race
  17. march — music
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. season — of the year
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. season — in sport
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — a part of something

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