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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. race — a contest
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. row — a line
  6. game — a match
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. race — humankind
  9. swing — to play on
  10. band — a music group
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. fall — to drop
  13. swing — in golf
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. game — wild animals
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. row — to paddle
  18. race — the arms race
  19. fall — to drop
  20. craft — a skill
  21. swing — music
  22. craft — boats
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. band — a ring

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