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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: swing · game · root · land · drill · hand

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. drill — the tool
  3. game — wild animals
  4. land — ground
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — in cards
  7. root — the cause
  8. swing — in golf
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — a country
  12. game — a match
  13. swing — to play on
  14. drill — army training
  15. drill — a practice
  16. root — of a plant
  17. hand — help
  18. root — of a word

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