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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  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 — in golf
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. spell — letters
  4. game — a match
  5. game — wild animals
  6. branch — a division
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for golf
  9. saw — the tool
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. swing — music
  12. fall — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. spell — magic
  15. prune — to trim
  16. spell — a short time
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. saw — the tool
  19. prune — to trim
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. swing — to play on
  23. club — for dancing
  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