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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: bore · wind · swing · land · toast · fall · ball · chip

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. ball — a dance
  3. swing — to play on
  4. fall — the season
  5. fall — to drop
  6. ball — a great time
  7. swing — in golf
  8. land — ground
  9. bore — to tire
  10. chip — to eat
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bore — to drill
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. toast — bread
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. land — a country
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wind — moving air
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. land — to come down
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. chip — for betting

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