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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.

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: spell · fan · court · cold · hide · swing · mine · squash

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. swing — music
  3. court — for sport
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. spell — letters
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. cold — not warm
  8. mine — for digging
  9. court — of law
  10. swing — in golf
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. court — of a king
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. squash — the sport
  16. spell — magic
  17. spell — a short time
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. cold — an illness
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — to crush
  24. fan — to cool the air

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