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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: wound · bat · swing · cue · ball · file · spell · object

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. swing — music
  3. wound — an injury
  4. spell — letters
  5. file — a line of people
  6. ball — a great time
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. cue — a signal
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. cue — a hint
  12. spell — magic
  13. object — an aim
  14. file — a document
  15. bat — the animal
  16. file — a tool
  17. spell — a short time
  18. object — a thing
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. swing — in golf
  21. ball — a dance
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. object — to protest
  24. cue — for pool

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