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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: present · row · swing · mine · stick · chair · ball · race

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. ball — a dance
  3. present — a gift
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. swing — in golf
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. swing — music
  9. ball — a great time
  10. present — there
  11. chair — a leader
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — the arms race
  15. mine — for digging
  16. swing — to play on
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. race — humankind
  22. present — the time now
  23. row — to paddle
  24. mine — an explosive

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