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

Word bank: foot · bowl · tear · wind · season · swing

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. season — in sport
  4. wind — moving air
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — music
  8. tear — to rip
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. season — of the year
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. foot — a measure
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. wind — moving air
  17. swing — in golf
  18. bowl — a football final

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