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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: swing · rule · shower · fine · wound · club

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — high quality
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. shower — rain
  7. swing — to play on
  8. rule — government
  9. rule — a law
  10. club — for golf
  11. shower — to wash
  12. club — for dancing
  13. swing — music
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. swing — in golf
  18. rule — to rule out

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