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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: spring · race · bowl · wax · chip · straw · last · stand

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. last — final
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. chip — to eat
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — of water
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — a contest
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. last — to go on
  19. spring — the season
  20. chip — for betting
  21. stand — to bear
  22. race — the arms race
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. stand — for spectators

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