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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 116 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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. swing — music
  4. swing — in golf
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. race — a contest
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. march — music
  9. file — a tool
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. march — the month
  12. kid — child
  13. race — humankind
  14. kid — to tease
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. march — the month
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. swing — to play on
  19. file — a document
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. file — a line of people
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rash — a series
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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