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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 120 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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mine — for digging
  8. club — for golf
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bat — the animal
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. club — a group
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. club — for dancing
  22. swing — to play on
  23. wax — to grow
  24. swing — music

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