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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. tear — to rip
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. race — humankind
  6. wake — a trail
  7. swing — to play on
  8. roll — a cake
  9. present — a gift
  10. roll — a list
  11. swing — music
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — goods
  14. race — the arms race
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. present — the time now
  18. bat — the animal
  19. race — a contest
  20. tear — from crying
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. present — there
  24. stock — shares

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