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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: stick · row · net · bear · straw · lean · bound · race

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. race — humankind
  3. net — after costs
  4. row — to paddle
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lean — thin
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bound — obliged
  11. net — in sport
  12. row — a line
  13. bound — tied together
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. net — for catching
  17. bear — the animal
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bound — certain
  22. race — the arms race
  23. race — a contest
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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