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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: swing · spell · arm · key · roll · file · bore · wind

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  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. spell — letters
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. bore — to drill
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. key — in music
  9. swing — to play on
  10. file — a line of people
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bore — to tire
  13. roll — a list
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — magic
  16. swing — music
  17. roll — a cake
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. key — for a lock
  20. key — the most important part
  21. swing — in golf
  22. file — a document
  23. roll — on a roll
  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