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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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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 · ground · swing · wake · bore · bat · mouse · band

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. band — a music group
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. ground — the earth
  5. swing — in golf
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. swing — music
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bore — to tire
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. band — a ring
  13. bat — the animal
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. wake — a trail
  17. ground — a position
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. swing — to play on
  24. bore — to drill

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