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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: land · swing · ruler · race · mate · chest

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mate — to breed
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. swing — to play on
  8. land — ground
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. chest — of your body
  11. swing — in golf
  12. race — humankind
  13. chest — a box
  14. mate — a partner
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — the arms race
  17. land — a country
  18. land — to come down

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