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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: straw · wound · object · race · wind · lie · swing · track

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. wound — an injury
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. wind — moving air
  6. lie — to recline
  7. track — to keep track
  8. object — to protest
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — the arms race
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wind — moving air
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. swing — to play on
  16. track — a song
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. race — a contest
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. swing — in golf
  21. object — an aim
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. swing — music
  24. object — a thing

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