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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: last · roll · ruler · kid · swing · race

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. swing — to play on
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. race — the arms race
  5. kid — child
  6. race — a contest
  7. swing — in golf
  8. roll — a cake
  9. last — to go on
  10. kid — to tease
  11. race — humankind
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. last — final
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. roll — a list
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. swing — music

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