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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — the arms race
  4. swing — to play on
  5. craft — boats
  6. swing — in golf
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. rush — hurry
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. field — a subject
  13. shower — rain
  14. craft — a skill
  15. toast — bread
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — for sport
  18. race — humankind
  19. dip — to sink
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. swing — music

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