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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: mine · fall · chip · mark · trunk · game · wound · swing

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mark — a grade
  3. game — wild animals
  4. fall — to drop
  5. mark — a trace
  6. chip — for betting
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — music
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. fall — to drop
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chip — to eat
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. swing — to play on
  17. game — a match
  18. fall — the season
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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