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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: tear · saw · hand · bowl · key · wind · sharp · swing

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. saw — the tool
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. hand — help
  7. tear — to rip
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. key — the most important part
  10. tear — from crying
  11. sharp — clever
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. key — for a lock
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. wind — moving air
  17. hand — in cards
  18. key — in music
  19. swing — to play on
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. tear — from crying
  22. swing — music
  23. saw — the tool
  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