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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: swing · rule · deal · game · fine · tear · race · scale

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. game — a match
  3. tear — from crying
  4. scale — size or range
  5. swing — to play on
  6. rule — government
  7. race — a contest
  8. deal — to handle
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — music
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. rule — a law
  16. game — wild animals
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. race — the arms race
  20. fine — high quality
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. race — humankind
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. fine — all right

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