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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: deal · land · squash · racket · spell · rule · swing · club

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. club — for dancing
  3. swing — to play on
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. club — for golf
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. land — ground
  8. rule — government
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. spell — letters
  11. spell — a short time
  12. club — a group
  13. squash — to crush
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. land — to come down
  16. swing — in golf
  17. deal — to handle
  18. rule — a law
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. squash — the sport
  21. spell — magic
  22. swing — music
  23. land — a country
  24. squash — the vegetable

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