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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: sharp · race · club · deal · branch · last · rash · swing

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. club — for golf
  4. swing — music
  5. last — finally
  6. race — a contest
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. rash — hasty
  9. sharp — clever
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. swing — to play on
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. club — for dancing
  14. branch — a division
  15. club — a group
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. last — to go on
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. race — the arms race
  20. deal — to handle
  21. rash — a series
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. race — humankind
  24. swing — in golf

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