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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 116 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: root · clip · bowl · straw · wind · race · pound · pass

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. race — the arms race
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. root — of a plant
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pound — a weight
  8. clip — a video
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. race — humankind
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. root — the cause
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. race — a contest
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — to cut
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. wind — moving air
  23. root — of a word
  24. pass — a permit

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