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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: bay · court · cap · wave · race · bat · swing · hand

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. swing — music
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. court — of a king
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. cap — a hat
  8. hand — help
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. swing — in golf
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. race — a contest
  16. hand — in cards
  17. court — for sport
  18. cap — of ice
  19. race — humankind
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. cap — a lid
  22. swing — to play on
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. court — of law

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