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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. swing — music
  3. race — the arms race
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. race — humankind
  7. court — of a king
  8. face — to point toward
  9. swing — in golf
  10. pop — soda
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. court — of law
  13. pop — to visit
  14. squash — the sport
  15. spring — the season
  16. tear — from crying
  17. squash — to crush
  18. spring — of water
  19. court — for sport
  20. face — to confront
  21. face — part of the head
  22. swing — to play on
  23. spring — a coil
  24. race — a contest

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