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

Word bank: race · swing · drill · bat · plane · deal

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  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. race — a contest
  2. drill — army training
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. plane — a tool
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. swing — to play on
  7. drill — a practice
  8. drill — the tool
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. race — humankind
  12. swing — music
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. swing — in golf
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. deal — to handle
  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