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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: club · wind · mug · lash · wound · spring · last · mine

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. last — final
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. mug — a cup
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mug — to rob
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. last — to go on
  12. spring — the season
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. club — a group
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — of water
  17. club — for dancing
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. last — finally
  20. wind — moving air
  21. mug — a face
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. mine — for digging
  24. club — for golf

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