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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. cap — a lid
  3. last — final
  4. cap — of ice
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. mug — a cup
  7. chip — for betting
  8. race — the arms race
  9. roll — a cake
  10. swing — in golf
  11. roll — a list
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. race — a contest
  14. last — finally
  15. mug — a face
  16. cap — a hat
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — help
  19. mug — to rob
  20. last — to go on
  21. swing — to play on
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. swing — music

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