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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: suit · swing · squash · tear · file · leaves · coach · mine

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. squash — to crush
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. suit — to fit
  5. suit — in cards
  6. swing — to play on
  7. tear — from crying
  8. suit — clothes
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. squash — the sport
  12. tear — to rip
  13. swing — in golf
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. swing — music
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. mine — for digging
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. file — a tool
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a document
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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