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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: prune · swing · rash · spell · mine · land · temple · file

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. swing — in golf
  4. spell — magic
  5. file — a tool
  6. land — to come down
  7. rash — a series
  8. land — a country
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. rash — hasty
  11. file — a document
  12. swing — music
  13. land — ground
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. spell — a short time
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. file — a line of people
  18. prune — to trim
  19. spell — letters
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. prune — to trim
  23. mine — for digging
  24. swing — to play on

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