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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: mark · shower · mine · pitcher · lean · wind · swing · nail

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. shower — rain
  5. mark — a grade
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. lean — thin
  15. swing — to play on
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. swing — music
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mark — a trace
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. mine — for digging
  22. wind — moving air
  23. swing — in golf
  24. shower — to wash

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