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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: mark · tear · wind · season · swing · last · mug · wound

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. tear — from crying
  3. season — of the year
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. mug — a face
  6. wound — an injury
  7. last — finally
  8. swing — in golf
  9. tear — from crying
  10. last — final
  11. season — in sport
  12. swing — to play on
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. mark — a grade
  15. wound — an injury
  16. mark — a trace
  17. mug — to rob
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. wind — moving air
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. last — to go on
  22. tear — to rip
  23. mug — a cup
  24. wind — moving 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