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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. mate — to breed
  3. wake — a trail
  4. mate — a partner
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — the season
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. game — wild animals
  11. mate — a friend
  12. race — a contest
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. swing — to play on
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. race — the arms race
  18. spring — of water
  19. game — a match
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — music
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. march — music
  24. race — humankind

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