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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 120 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: wound · rash · tear · mine · swing · saw · wind · stand

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. stand — to bear
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — to play on
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. tear — from crying
  15. saw — the tool
  16. mine — for digging
  17. tear — from crying
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. tear — to rip
  22. wind — moving air
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. rash — hasty

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