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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: firm · suit · fall · pop · cap · drill · swing · mine

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. firm — steady
  3. firm — decided
  4. swing — to play on
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. suit — in cards
  8. fall — to drop
  9. pop — soda
  10. swing — in golf
  11. pop — music
  12. cap — a hat
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. drill — a practice
  15. drill — the tool
  16. fall — to drop
  17. swing — music
  18. suit — to fit
  19. firm — a company
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cap — a lid
  22. drill — army training
  23. suit — clothes
  24. fall — the season

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