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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: swing · wind · bowl · sharp · spell · firm · file · club

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. firm — a company
  4. club — for dancing
  5. firm — steady
  6. file — a tool
  7. wind — moving air
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — in golf
  10. firm — decided
  11. sharp — clever
  12. wind — moving air
  13. spell — magic
  14. file — a document
  15. club — a group
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spell — letters
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. club — for golf
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. sharp — with an edge

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