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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 120 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: hand · race · file · swing · craft · lash · degree · deal

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. race — the arms race
  3. degree — an amount
  4. file — a document
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — to play on
  7. degree — temperature
  8. deal — to handle
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. swing — music
  12. race — humankind
  13. craft — boats
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. file — a tool
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. degree — from a university
  21. craft — a skill
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. file — a line of people
  24. hand — in cards

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