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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: wound · cap · chip · fall · swing · suit · mine · lean

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. suit — to fit
  3. wound — an injury
  4. fall — to drop
  5. chip — to eat
  6. wound — an injury
  7. suit — clothes
  8. swing — to play on
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. suit — in cards
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — music
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chip — for betting
  15. lean — to bend
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. lean — thin
  18. fall — the season
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. fall — to drop
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a hat
  24. lean — to rest against

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