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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: rock · cold · track · trunk · kick · race · swing · hide

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. cold — an illness
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. rock — a stone
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. cold — not warm
  11. track — a path
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — a contest
  14. track — to keep track
  15. swing — to play on
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. track — a song
  19. kick — in football
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. swing — music
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. rock — music
  24. race — humankind

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