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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. race — humankind
  3. club — a group
  4. swing — to play on
  5. cold — an illness
  6. club — for golf
  7. cold — not warm
  8. swing — in golf
  9. chair — a leader
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. race — a contest
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. club — for dancing
  15. swing — music
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. race — the arms race

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