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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. race — a contest
  3. stand — to bear
  4. squash — the sport
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — a practice
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. sharp — clever
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. court — of a king
  13. swing — music
  14. race — humankind
  15. band — a music group
  16. squash — to crush
  17. court — for sport
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a ring
  20. swing — in golf
  21. race — the arms race
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. drill — the tool
  24. court — of law

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