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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: file · bear · hand · swing · saw · mine · game · dip

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. swing — music
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. hand — in cards
  5. file — a tool
  6. game — a match
  7. file — a line of people
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. mine — for digging
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. swing — to play on
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. bear — the animal
  16. file — a document
  17. bear — the animal
  18. dip — to sink
  19. hand — help
  20. game — wild animals
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. mine — an explosive

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