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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. spring — a coil
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. rest — what's left
  5. game — a match
  6. game — wild animals
  7. swing — to play on
  8. snap — to click
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. plane — a tool
  11. race — humankind
  12. spring — the season
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. race — the arms race
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. spring — of water
  19. kick — in football
  20. rest — a break
  21. rest — what's left
  22. race — a contest
  23. swing — music
  24. plane — in geometry

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