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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · fork · squash · swing · wind · row

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. squash — to crush
  3. club — for dancing
  4. club — for golf
  5. row — a line
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. squash — the sport
  9. wind — moving air
  10. club — a group
  11. wind — moving air
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. fork — in a road
  14. row — to paddle
  15. swing — music
  16. swing — in golf
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. row — a quarrel

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