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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: track · chip · race · swing · snap · date · tear · bass

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. swing — music
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. race — a contest
  5. chip — to eat
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. track — to keep track
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. tear — from crying
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bass — low music
  15. swing — in golf
  16. track — a path
  17. swing — to play on
  18. bass — the fish
  19. track — a song
  20. date — the fruit
  21. tear — from crying
  22. race — humankind
  23. tear — to rip
  24. chip — for betting

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