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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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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: club · march · ball · swing · tear · wind

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. club — a group
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wind — moving air
  5. club — for golf
  6. swing — music
  7. club — for dancing
  8. swing — to play on
  9. march — the month
  10. ball — a great time
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. tear — to rip
  14. swing — in golf
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. ball — a dance
  18. tear — from crying

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