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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: fan · staff · wound · pass · swing · date · rule · row

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pass — a permit
  4. staff — employees
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. swing — music
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. date — the fruit
  9. rule — a law
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a line
  14. wound — an injury
  15. staff — a stick
  16. swing — in golf
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. swing — to play on
  23. rule — government
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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