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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: hand · mine · wind · rule · swing · track · nail · stick

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. hand — help
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. track — a path
  6. rule — a law
  7. mine — for digging
  8. rule — government
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. track — a song
  11. swing — to play on
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. swing — music
  15. wind — moving air
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. track — to keep track
  21. swing — in golf
  22. hand — in cards
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. wind — moving air

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