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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: deal · content · race · drill · present · swing · pit · row

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. present — there
  3. row — a line
  4. present — the time now
  5. swing — music
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. drill — army training
  8. race — the arms race
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. drill — the tool
  13. content — happy
  14. present — a gift
  15. pit — in a race
  16. row — to paddle
  17. deal — to handle
  18. race — a contest
  19. swing — in golf
  20. drill — a practice
  21. pit — a hole
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. swing — to play on
  24. race — humankind

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