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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. file — a tool
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. pit — a hole
  5. land — to come down
  6. swing — to play on
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. swing — in golf
  11. land — a country
  12. land — ground
  13. file — a line of people
  14. swing — music
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. pit — in a race
  17. kick — in football
  18. file — a document

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