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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: mine · leaves · swing · club · chest · present · foot · chip

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. foot — a measure
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. swing — to play on
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. present — a gift
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mine — for digging
  12. chip — to eat
  13. swing — in golf
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. swing — music
  16. club — for dancing
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. present — there
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. chip — for betting
  21. club — a group
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. club — for golf
  24. present — the time now

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