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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 · mine · season · tear · deal · jam · rule · pop

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. tear — from crying
  3. swing — in golf
  4. mine — for digging
  5. season — of the year
  6. swing — to play on
  7. pop — to visit
  8. tear — from crying
  9. season — in sport
  10. rule — government
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. rule — a law
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. pop — soda
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. deal — to handle
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. swing — music
  20. tear — to rip
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. pop — music
  24. deal — a big deal

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