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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: swing · mine · club · jam · land · chest · ball · wave

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. mine — for digging
  5. chest — of your body
  6. swing — in golf
  7. chest — of your body
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. land — to come down
  10. club — for dancing
  11. swing — music
  12. ball — a great time
  13. club — for golf
  14. land — ground
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. chest — a box
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. ball — a dance
  21. club — a group
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. land — a country

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