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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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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: swing · kid · shower · mine · pit · staff · hand · mate

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. shower — to wash
  3. swing — music
  4. mate — a friend
  5. kid — child
  6. mate — a partner
  7. staff — a stick
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. pit — in a race
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. hand — help
  14. kid — to tease
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. shower — rain
  17. staff — employees
  18. swing — to play on
  19. pit — a hole
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. hand — in cards
  22. staff — employees
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. mate — to breed

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