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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: race · ground · swing · squash · mug · snap · club · land

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  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. race — the arms race
  2. swing — in golf
  3. race — a contest
  4. land — a country
  5. squash — the sport
  6. mug — a face
  7. ground — a position
  8. club — for dancing
  9. club — for golf
  10. mug — a cup
  11. swing — to play on
  12. ground — crushed
  13. squash — to crush
  14. club — a group
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. ground — the earth
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. mug — to rob
  19. swing — music
  20. snap — to click
  21. land — to come down
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. land — ground
  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