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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. 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. pop — music
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. race — humankind
  4. tube — the underground
  5. squash — to crush
  6. pop — to visit
  7. object — a thing
  8. club — for golf
  9. race — a contest
  10. pop — soda
  11. object — an aim
  12. club — a group
  13. swing — music
  14. tube — a container
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. club — for dancing
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — to play on
  19. object — to protest
  20. squash — the sport
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. 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