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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: lean · ground · squash · bear · race · chair · swing · content

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. race — humankind
  3. swing — music
  4. race — a contest
  5. squash — the sport
  6. race — the arms race
  7. bear — the animal
  8. content — the amount
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. swing — in golf
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. squash — to crush
  13. swing — to play on
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — the earth
  17. content — happy
  18. lean — to bend
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. lean — thin
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. ground — a position
  24. bear — the animal

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