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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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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: roll · wind · object · pop · bass · present · saw · race

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. roll — a cake
  3. pop — to visit
  4. race — the arms race
  5. saw — the tool
  6. object — to protest
  7. pop — soda
  8. saw — the tool
  9. wind — moving air
  10. object — a thing
  11. bass — the fish
  12. present — there
  13. roll — a list
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. wind — moving air
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. present — the time now
  18. bass — low music
  19. race — humankind
  20. pop — music
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. present — a gift
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. object — an aim

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