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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: root · drill · saw · mate · swing · race · last · rule

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. race — the arms race
  3. mate — a partner
  4. last — to go on
  5. rule — a law
  6. last — final
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. swing — to play on
  10. mate — to breed
  11. saw — the tool
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. drill — a practice
  14. last — finally
  15. root — of a plant
  16. drill — the tool
  17. root — the cause
  18. swing — music
  19. race — a contest
  20. rule — government
  21. mate — a friend
  22. race — humankind
  23. root — of a word
  24. drill — army training

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