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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. kid — child
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. game — a match
  6. deal — to handle
  7. rock — music
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. kid — to tease
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. swing — in golf
  12. race — humankind
  13. swing — music
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. race — a contest
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. swing — to play on
  18. wind — moving air
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. game — wild animals
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. race — the arms race
  24. rock — a stone

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