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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. deal — to handle
  5. mate — a friend
  6. race — a contest
  7. scale — size or range
  8. mate — a partner
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. swing — in golf
  12. race — humankind
  13. land — to come down
  14. race — the arms race
  15. tear — to rip
  16. land — a country
  17. mate — to breed
  18. rash — a series
  19. tear — from crying
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. tear — from crying
  22. swing — music
  23. scale — in music
  24. land — ground

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