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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. swing — in golf
  3. spring — of water
  4. rash — a series
  5. spring — a coil
  6. object — to protest
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. rash — hasty
  9. swing — music
  10. race — a contest
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wound — an injury
  13. object — an aim
  14. spring — the season
  15. race — the arms race
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. object — a thing
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. swing — to play on
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. wound — an injury

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