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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 120 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 · drill · deal · hide · tube · spell · chair · wind

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. spell — a short time
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. swing — music
  8. drill — army training
  9. wind — moving air
  10. tube — the underground
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. drill — a practice
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. drill — the tool
  15. chair — a leader
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — in golf
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. deal — to handle
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. wind — moving air
  22. spell — letters
  23. tube — a container
  24. spell — magic

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