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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 116 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: spell · last · swing · wind · file · kick

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. last — to go on
  3. wind — moving air
  4. spell — a short time
  5. kick — in football
  6. last — finally
  7. spell — magic
  8. file — a document
  9. spell — letters
  10. swing — to play on
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. file — a tool
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. last — final
  16. swing — in golf
  17. swing — music
  18. file — a line of people

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