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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: drill · swing · season · mine · cue · straw · file · rock

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. cue — a signal
  4. season — in sport
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. swing — music
  7. mine — for digging
  8. drill — army training
  9. rock — a stone
  10. swing — to play on
  11. season — of the year
  12. drill — a practice
  13. rock — music
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. file — a line of people
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. swing — in golf
  19. drill — the tool
  20. cue — for pool
  21. cue — a hint
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a tool

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