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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 · swing · chip · foot · spring · tear · mate · arm

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. tear — to rip
  3. foot — a measure
  4. spring — a coil
  5. race — the arms race
  6. tear — from crying
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. spring — of water
  11. race — humankind
  12. chip — for betting
  13. mate — to breed
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. mate — a friend
  16. spring — the season
  17. tear — from crying
  18. swing — music
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. swing — in golf
  22. race — a contest
  23. swing — to play on
  24. chip — to eat

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