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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: bat · scale · swing · march · wind · spell · squash · bound

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. march — the month
  4. squash — to crush
  5. swing — music
  6. wind — moving air
  7. scale — size or range
  8. march — the month
  9. spell — letters
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. spell — a short time
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. spell — magic
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bound — certain
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. wind — moving air
  19. march — music
  20. squash — the sport
  21. bound — tied together
  22. scale — in music
  23. swing — in golf
  24. bound — obliged

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