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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. swing — in golf
  3. last — finally
  4. mine — for digging
  5. swing — music
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. craft — a skill
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. can — to be able to
  15. wind — moving air
  16. shower — rain
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. swing — to play on
  19. shower — to wash
  20. craft — boats
  21. wake — a trail
  22. last — to go on
  23. can — a tin
  24. can — a tin

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