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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. swing — music
  3. wind — moving air
  4. chip — to eat
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bank — for money
  7. spring — of water
  8. hand — in cards
  9. spring — a coil
  10. swing — to play on
  11. hand — help
  12. bank — for money
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. swing — in golf
  15. spell — letters
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — magic
  19. spring — the season
  20. season — in sport
  21. chip — for betting
  22. season — of the year
  23. bank — of a river
  24. chip — in a computer

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