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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 124 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: swing · game · straw · bore · mine · perch · wind · bulb

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. bore — to drill
  4. wind — moving air
  5. game — a match
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. bulb — for light
  9. swing — in golf
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. mine — for digging
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. swing — music
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. perch — the fish
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bulb — for light
  21. swing — to play on
  22. bore — to tire
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. perch — for a bird

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