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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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Word bank
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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: swing · race · spring · tear · march · club

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. club — for dancing
  3. race — humankind
  4. club — a group
  5. race — the arms race
  6. tear — from crying
  7. swing — music
  8. march — the month
  9. swing — in golf
  10. spring — of water
  11. swing — to play on
  12. spring — the season
  13. tear — to rip
  14. club — for golf
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. race — a contest
  18. tear — from crying

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