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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. saw — the tool
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. dip — to sink
  6. race — humankind
  7. swing — to play on
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. race — the arms race
  10. content — the amount
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. content — happy
  13. swing — in golf
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. rock — music
  16. rock — a stone
  17. file — a document
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. saw — the tool
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. swing — music
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a tool

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