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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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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: hide · rash · scale · bat · wake · sharp · swing · race

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. bat — the animal
  4. swing — to play on
  5. swing — music
  6. race — the arms race
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. race — humankind
  9. rash — hasty
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. swing — in golf
  12. wake — a trail
  13. race — a contest
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — size or range
  17. rash — a series
  18. scale — in music
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. sharp — clever
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. hide — to keep secret

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