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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. wound — an injury
  4. swing — in golf
  5. swing — music
  6. kid — child
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. race — humankind
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. race — the arms race
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. swing — to play on
  17. saw — the tool
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bat — the animal
  20. race — a contest
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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