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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 120 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: court · net · leaves · wind · rush · wound · swing · tear

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. net — in sport
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. net — after costs
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. rush — hurry
  8. wind — moving air
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. wind — moving air
  11. swing — music
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. tear — to rip
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. swing — to play on
  16. tear — from crying
  17. court — for sport
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — of law
  20. wound — an injury
  21. net — for catching
  22. wound — an injury
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. tear — from crying

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