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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. rush — hurry
  3. squash — to crush
  4. swing — to play on
  5. wind — moving air
  6. squash — the sport
  7. race — humankind
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. swing — music
  11. rash — a series
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. current — happening now
  15. current — of water
  16. race — a contest
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. pound — a weight
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. rash — hasty
  21. current — electric
  22. swing — in golf
  23. pound — for dogs
  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