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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: land · fine · hide · pitcher · cold · kick · mine · swing

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. land — to come down
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mine — for digging
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. fine — all right
  14. swing — in golf
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. fine — high quality
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. swing — music
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. kick — in football
  21. land — a country
  22. land — ground
  23. swing — to play on
  24. pitcher — a jug

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