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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: swing · wind · hide · cold · mark · deal

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — music
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. swing — in golf
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cold — not warm
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. cold — an illness
  15. mark — a grade
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. mark — a trace

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