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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. season — of the year
  7. land — a country
  8. wind — moving air
  9. club — a group
  10. cold — an illness
  11. swing — in golf
  12. wound — an injury
  13. land — to come down
  14. season — in sport
  15. club — for dancing
  16. land — ground
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. cold — not warm
  21. swing — to play on
  22. club — for golf
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. season — to add flavour

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