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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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Word bank
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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 · calf · cap · race · straw · ball · game · file

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. race — humankind
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. game — a match
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. cap — a hat
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. cap — of ice
  10. cap — a lid
  11. game — wild animals
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a line of people
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. race — a contest
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — music
  18. race — the arms race
  19. file — a document
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. swing — in golf
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. ball — a great time

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