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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stick · race · march · swing · squash · fall

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. swing — music
  3. march — the month
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. race — humankind
  6. squash — to crush
  7. march — music
  8. fall — the season
  9. squash — the sport
  10. race — a contest
  11. swing — to play on
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. swing — in golf
  14. fall — to drop
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. march — the month
  18. race — the arms race

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