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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 120 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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. lean — thin
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. court — for sport
  5. tear — from crying
  6. last — to go on
  7. swing — in golf
  8. scale — size or range
  9. lean — to bend
  10. tear — from crying
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. race — humankind
  13. scale — in music
  14. court — of a king
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. race — a contest
  17. chip — for betting
  18. tear — to rip
  19. swing — to play on
  20. last — finally
  21. chip — to eat
  22. court — of law
  23. last — final
  24. race — the arms race

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