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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: land · club · swing · ruler · mine · rest · leaves · tube

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. swing — music
  4. land — ground
  5. mine — for digging
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. club — a group
  10. rest — what's left
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. tube — the underground
  13. land — to come down
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. club — for dancing
  16. rest — a break
  17. swing — in golf
  18. rest — what's left
  19. tube — a container
  20. land — a country
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. tube — in a tire
  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