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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: race · file · ball · pitch · fall · club · swing · wake

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. swing — to play on
  3. ball — a great time
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a tool
  7. fall — the season
  8. swing — music
  9. club — for golf
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. club — a group
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. file — a line of people
  14. swing — in golf
  15. club — for dancing
  16. ball — a dance
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pitch — completely
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — a contest
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. wake — a trail
  23. fall — to drop
  24. race — the arms race

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