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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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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: march · swing · tear · spell · cue · race

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. spell — letters
  3. march — the month
  4. swing — to play on
  5. race — a contest
  6. cue — for pool
  7. swing — in golf
  8. march — music
  9. race — the arms race
  10. tear — from crying
  11. swing — music
  12. tear — from crying
  13. race — humankind
  14. spell — a short time
  15. cue — a hint
  16. tear — to rip
  17. cue — a signal
  18. spell — magic

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