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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: last · game · wind · season · land · swing · craft · roll

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. land — ground
  3. roll — a list
  4. last — final
  5. craft — a skill
  6. last — to go on
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. roll — a cake
  9. land — a country
  10. swing — in golf
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. game — wild animals
  14. swing — to play on
  15. game — a match
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. craft — boats
  18. swing — music
  19. season — of the year
  20. season — in sport
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. land — to come down
  23. last — finally
  24. craft — a handicraft

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