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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 120 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 no middle ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — crushed
  4. race — a contest
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. swing — music
  7. track — a song
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. kid — child
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. race — humankind
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. track — to keep track
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. track — a path
  21. ground — the earth
  22. race — the arms race
  23. swing — to play on
  24. kid — to tease

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