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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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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: arm · track · swing · rule · mine · bat · tear · club

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. rule — a law
  3. swing — in golf
  4. tear — to rip
  5. track — a path
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. track — to keep track
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. track — a song
  13. club — for golf
  14. rule — government
  15. bat — the animal
  16. club — for dancing
  17. swing — to play on
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — for digging
  20. swing — music
  21. club — a group
  22. tear — from crying
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. bat — in an idiom

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