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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. kid — to tease
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. race — a contest
  5. drill — army training
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. row — to paddle
  8. drill — the tool
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. drill — a practice
  11. race — humankind
  12. row — a line
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. sharp — clever
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. swing — to play on
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. scale — size or range
  19. race — the arms race
  20. scale — in music
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. kid — child
  23. swing — music
  24. sharp — with an edge

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