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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. spring — of water
  3. sharp — clever
  4. bulb — for light
  5. kid — child
  6. swing — to play on
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bulb — for light
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. swing — music
  12. kid — to tease
  13. spring — the season
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. spring — a coil

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