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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. swing — in golf
  5. swing — music
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. file — a line of people
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. saw — the tool
  11. mine — for digging
  12. file — a tool
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. file — a document
  21. tear — from crying
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. mine — an explosive

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