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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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Word bank
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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: wave · saw · race · swing · sharp · date · can · spell

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. race — humankind
  3. spell — a short time
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. spell — magic
  8. can — a tin
  9. sharp — clever
  10. swing — in golf
  11. saw — the tool
  12. spell — letters
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. can — a tin
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. swing — to play on
  18. race — a contest
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. race — the arms race
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. swing — music
  23. date — the fruit
  24. can — to be able to

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