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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: arm · swing · race · rash · staff · stick · cold · pop

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pop — to visit
  4. race — a contest
  5. cold — not warm
  6. swing — to play on
  7. pop — soda
  8. swing — in golf
  9. rash — a series
  10. pop — music
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. swing — music
  13. rash — hasty
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — a stick
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. race — the arms race
  21. staff — employees
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. race — humankind
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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