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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: row · cell · swing · race · rest · rash

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. race — humankind
  3. swing — to play on
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. cell — in biology
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. rest — what's left
  8. cell — a phone
  9. swing — music
  10. row — a line
  11. rest — a break
  12. race — the arms race
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. swing — in golf
  15. row — to paddle
  16. rash — a series
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rash — hasty

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