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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. lean — to bend
  3. swing — in golf
  4. current — happening now
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bound — certain
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a ring
  13. swing — to play on
  14. lean — thin
  15. race — a contest
  16. swing — music
  17. current — of water
  18. current — electric
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. race — humankind
  21. bound — obliged
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. race — the arms race
  24. wind — moving air

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