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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 120 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: wind · swing · wound · stick · mate · cell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mate — a partner
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. mate — to breed
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — to play on
  11. wound — an injury
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. swing — music
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wound — an injury
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cell — in biology
  18. wind — moving air

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