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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. swing — in golf
  3. race — humankind
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. content — the amount
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. swing — to play on
  8. land — a country
  9. file — a document
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — of water
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. spring — a coil
  15. chair — a leader
  16. race — the arms race
  17. content — happy
  18. land — ground
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a line of people
  21. land — to come down
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lie — to recline
  24. race — a contest

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