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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 116 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 · bear · ground · wind · club · trunk · staff · last

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — employees
  4. club — for golf
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — to play on
  7. ground — the earth
  8. last — finally
  9. club — for dancing
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — the animal
  13. ground — a position
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. staff — a stick
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. last — final
  18. last — to go on
  19. ground — crushed
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. swing — music
  24. club — a group

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