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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: foot · last · cell · race · game · nail · swing · pop

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. swing — in golf
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. cell — in biology
  6. pop — music
  7. cell — a phone
  8. game — wild animals
  9. race — a contest
  10. pop — to visit
  11. foot — a measure
  12. last — finally
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — humankind
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. last — to go on
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. game — a match
  22. pop — soda
  23. last — final
  24. swing — music

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