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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: mine · swing · wind · season · ground · file · net · board

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. mine — for digging
  3. ground — the earth
  4. swing — music
  5. wind — moving air
  6. net — after costs
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. ground — crushed
  9. file — a line of people
  10. board — to get on
  11. net — in sport
  12. ground — a position
  13. season — in sport
  14. file — a document
  15. swing — in golf
  16. season — of the year
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. file — a tool
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. wind — moving air
  21. net — for catching
  22. swing — to play on
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. mine — an explosive

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