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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: race · rash · swing · rush · pitcher · track · kick · mine

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. track — a path
  3. race — a contest
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. swing — in golf
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. mine — for digging
  13. kick — in football
  14. rush — hurry
  15. race — the arms race
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — music
  19. track — to keep track
  20. track — a song
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. race — humankind
  24. kick — a thrill

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