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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. cold — an illness
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. race — the arms race
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — in golf
  8. cold — not warm
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. mate — a partner
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. hand — help
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. swing — music
  17. race — a contest
  18. race — humankind
  19. pass — a permit
  20. mate — a friend
  21. hand — in cards
  22. mate — to breed
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. rock — 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