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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: date · craft · drill · hand · fall · wind · swing · ball

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. drill — army training
  3. swing — music
  4. ball — a dance
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. swing — to play on
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. ball — a great time
  11. drill — the tool
  12. hand — help
  13. fall — to drop
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. wind — moving air
  16. craft — a skill
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. fall — the season
  20. swing — in golf
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. date — the fruit
  23. wind — moving air
  24. craft — boats

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