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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 · bass · mine · perch · cap · game · ground · saw

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. swing — in golf
  3. perch — the fish
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cap — a lid
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bass — low music
  8. game — wild animals
  9. swing — music
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — the earth
  13. cap — a hat
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — a match
  17. ground — crushed
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bass — the fish
  20. cap — of ice
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. swing — to play on

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