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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. swing — music
  5. wound — an injury
  6. swing — in golf
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. race — a contest
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. game — wild animals
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. race — the arms race
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. swing — to play on
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. game — a match
  22. kick — in football
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. wound — an injury

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