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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 124 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. wound — an injury
  3. swing — in golf
  4. swing — music
  5. file — a document
  6. wound — an injury
  7. fall — to drop
  8. band — a music group
  9. content — happy
  10. mug — a cup
  11. mug — to rob
  12. band — a ring
  13. file — a line of people
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bark — to shout
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. mug — a face
  20. content — the amount
  21. fall — the season
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. file — a tool
  24. fall — to drop

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