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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: squash · ball · court · wind · file · swing · wake · stem

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. wind — moving air
  3. squash — the sport
  4. swing — in golf
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. stem — to come from
  8. file — a tool
  9. court — for sport
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. ball — a great time
  12. file — a document
  13. ball — a dance
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. swing — music
  16. wind — moving air
  17. file — a line of people
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. court — of a king
  21. swing — to play on
  22. court — of law
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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