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

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. saw — the tool
  3. swing — in golf
  4. race — humankind
  5. kid — child
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. saw — the tool
  8. swing — music
  9. squash — to crush
  10. swing — to play on
  11. rule — government
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. net — in sport
  14. race — the arms race
  15. kid — to tease
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. squash — the sport
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. net — after costs
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. race — a contest
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. rule — a law
  24. net — for catching

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