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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: chip · foot · shower · net · track · swing · rest · race

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  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. track — a path
  2. rest — what's left
  3. net — after costs
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. rest — a break
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. shower — rain
  8. chip — for betting
  9. chip — to eat
  10. track — to keep track
  11. race — humankind
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. foot — a measure
  14. rest — what's left
  15. shower — to wash
  16. swing — music
  17. race — the arms race
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. race — a contest
  21. track — a song
  22. swing — to play on
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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