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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: bear · roll · wound · ground · saw · race · row · swing

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. roll — a list
  3. swing — music
  4. saw — the tool
  5. race — a contest
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. bear — the animal
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. ground — a position
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. row — a line
  14. swing — in golf
  15. race — humankind
  16. roll — a cake
  17. ground — the earth
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bear — the animal
  20. ground — crushed
  21. wound — an injury
  22. swing — to play on
  23. saw — the tool
  24. row — to paddle

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