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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 · shower · cap · ground · staff · game · jam · last

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. ground — the earth
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — employees
  5. cap — a lid
  6. ground — a position
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. cap — of ice
  9. last — to go on
  10. ground — crushed
  11. cap — a hat
  12. shower — rain
  13. staff — a stick
  14. swing — music
  15. game — wild animals
  16. shower — to wash
  17. last — finally
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. swing — in golf
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. game — a match
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. swing — to play on

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