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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. cue — a hint
  3. present — there
  4. swing — music
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — wild animals
  7. swing — in golf
  8. ground — crushed
  9. race — the arms race
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. cue — for pool
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — a gift
  14. swing — to play on
  15. cue — a signal
  16. shower — rain
  17. game — a match
  18. cell — a phone
  19. ground — the earth
  20. ground — a position
  21. race — humankind
  22. shower — to wash
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — in a prison

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