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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 120 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: bore · swing · deal · last · file · hand · spring · mine

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. last — to go on
  3. hand — in cards
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. file — a document
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — for digging
  8. swing — music
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. file — a tool
  11. bore — to drill
  12. spring — of water
  13. last — finally
  14. spring — the season
  15. swing — to play on
  16. last — final
  17. hand — help
  18. file — a line of people
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bore — to tire
  23. deal — to handle
  24. swing — in golf

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