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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 · band · saw · nail · squash · ground · rule · arm

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. swing — in golf
  6. band — a music group
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. squash — to crush
  11. saw — the tool
  12. band — a ring
  13. squash — the sport
  14. swing — to play on
  15. rule — a law
  16. ground — a position
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. ground — crushed
  20. ground — the earth
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. swing — music
  24. saw — the tool

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