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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. race — the arms race
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. swing — in golf
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. cap — a hat
  7. rash — a series
  8. race — humankind
  9. cap — a lid
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. rash — hasty
  14. race — a contest
  15. cap — of ice
  16. swing — music
  17. ball — a dance
  18. spring — the season
  19. scale — in music
  20. scale — size or range
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. swing — to play on
  23. ball — a great time
  24. spring — of water

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