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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. race — a contest
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. tear — to rip
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. tear — from crying
  7. rule — a law
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. pit — in a race
  10. race — humankind
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. swing — to play on
  15. pit — a hole
  16. rock — music
  17. cold — an illness
  18. race — the arms race
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. cold — not warm
  21. rock — a stone
  22. swing — in golf
  23. rule — government
  24. cold — the Cold War

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