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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: fine · jam · wind · roll · ground · leaves · swing · fall

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. fine — all right
  4. roll — a cake
  5. fine — high quality
  6. ground — a position
  7. fall — to drop
  8. ground — the earth
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. swing — music
  11. swing — in golf
  12. ground — crushed
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. fall — the season
  17. swing — to play on
  18. fall — to drop
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. roll — a list
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. roll — on a roll

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