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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: race · swing · bear · mine · wind · racket

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bear — the animal
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bear — the animal
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. race — humankind
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — the arms race
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. swing — music
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — in golf

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