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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 120 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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. mug — a cup
  3. spell — magic
  4. mug — to rob
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. foot — a measure
  7. spell — a short time
  8. mug — a face
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. swing — in golf
  11. cell — in biology
  12. last — to go on
  13. race — humankind
  14. swing — to play on
  15. race — the arms race
  16. cell — a phone
  17. spell — letters
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. swing — music
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. last — finally
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. last — final

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