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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. band — a ring
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. swing — to play on
  8. swing — music
  9. wound — an injury
  10. saw — the tool
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pitch — completely
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. craft — boats
  15. club — for dancing
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. club — for golf
  19. saw — the tool
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. swing — in golf
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. band — a music group
  24. craft — a skill

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