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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. band — a ring
  3. pit — in a race
  4. can — a tin
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. can — a tin
  7. swing — in golf
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. swing — music
  12. swing — to play on
  13. row — to paddle
  14. band — a music group
  15. kid — child
  16. race — the arms race
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. can — to be able to
  20. race — humankind
  21. pit — a hole
  22. race — a contest
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. bat — the animal

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