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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: plane · deal · race · tear · mine · snap · rash · swing

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. deal — to handle
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. race — the arms race
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — a contest
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. swing — to play on
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. rash — a series
  14. tear — from crying
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. swing — in golf
  17. plane — a tool
  18. tear — to rip
  19. mine — for digging
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. swing — music
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. snap — to click
  24. rash — hasty

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