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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: last · swing · saw · season · drill · wind · charge · ball

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. swing — in golf
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. charge — a price
  5. wind — moving air
  6. charge — in control
  7. drill — a practice
  8. swing — music
  9. drill — army training
  10. ball — a dance
  11. saw — the tool
  12. season — of the year
  13. saw — the tool
  14. wind — moving air
  15. charge — electricity
  16. drill — the tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. ball — a great time
  19. season — in sport
  20. last — to go on
  21. swing — to play on
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. last — finally
  24. ball — a round shape

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