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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 · race · rush · hand · shower · key · season · file

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. file — a line of people
  4. swing — in golf
  5. race — the arms race
  6. key — for a lock
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. season — in sport
  9. file — a document
  10. season — of the year
  11. shower — to wash
  12. file — a tool
  13. hand — help
  14. key — the most important part
  15. race — a contest
  16. shower — rain
  17. hand — in cards
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. key — in music
  20. swing — music
  21. race — humankind
  22. swing — to play on
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. rush — to hurry

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