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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. swing — music
  4. swing — in golf
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. swing — to play on
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. fork — in a road
  10. roll — a list
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. present — there
  13. present — a gift
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. dip — to sink
  17. wound — an injury
  18. present — the time now
  19. roll — a cake
  20. mine — for digging
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. wound — an injury
  24. lash — to lash out

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