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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: rule · wind · bat · chair · track · race · swing · mate

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. swing — music
  3. race — a contest
  4. swing — to play on
  5. track — a path
  6. track — to keep track
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. rule — government
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. wind — moving air
  13. mate — a friend
  14. mate — to breed
  15. swing — in golf
  16. race — the arms race
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. track — a song
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bat — the animal
  22. mate — a partner
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rule — a law

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