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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: tear · swing · race · court · wave · last

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. race — a contest
  3. last — final
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — to play on
  6. tear — from crying
  7. race — the arms race
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. tear — from crying
  10. last — to go on
  11. court — of law
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. race — humankind
  14. court — of a king
  15. swing — in golf
  16. court — for sport
  17. last — finally
  18. wave — a sudden rise

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