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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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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: track · cold · hide · wind · swing · bowl · march · snap

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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. bowl — to roll
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. march — music
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. wind — moving air
  10. march — the month
  11. snap — to click
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. swing — to play on
  14. march — the month
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. track — a song
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. cold — not warm
  20. track — to keep track
  21. wind — moving air
  22. track — a path
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. cold — an illness

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