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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: temple · wind · straw · race · bass · fan · current · arm

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. current — of water
  7. race — humankind
  8. wind — moving air
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. current — happening now
  14. race — a contest
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. current — electric
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. race — the arms race
  23. bass — low music
  24. bass — the fish

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