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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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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: chip · swing · march · ball · cold · ground · wound · dip

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. march — the month
  3. cold — an illness
  4. wound — an injury
  5. swing — to play on
  6. ground — crushed
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. ground — a position
  9. wound — an injury
  10. march — the month
  11. swing — music
  12. cold — not warm
  13. dip — to sink
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. ground — the earth
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. chip — to eat
  20. ball — a dance
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. ball — a great time
  23. march — music
  24. chip — for betting

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