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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. swing — in golf
  3. chair — a leader
  4. land — ground
  5. land — a country
  6. swing — music
  7. race — humankind
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. bank — of a river
  10. race — the arms race
  11. swing — to play on
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bank — for money
  14. saw — the tool
  15. land — to come down
  16. race — a contest
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. bank — for money
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — from a university
  21. squash — to crush
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. saw — the tool

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