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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. swing — in golf
  3. swing — music
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. pop — music
  6. pop — to visit
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. tear — from crying
  10. race — the arms race
  11. tear — to rip
  12. race — humankind
  13. tear — from crying
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. scale — size or range
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. pop — soda
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. swing — to play on
  23. scale — in music
  24. march — the month

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