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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: swing · deal · pop · race · current · sharp · rock · row

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — clever
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. pop — music
  6. rock — a stone
  7. current — of water
  8. rock — music
  9. deal — to handle
  10. swing — to play on
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — humankind
  13. current — electric
  14. row — a line
  15. pop — soda
  16. current — happening now
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. race — a contest
  19. pop — to visit
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. swing — music
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. row — to paddle
  24. swing — in golf

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