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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: club · ground · suit · wind · cue · wound · tear · swing

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. tear — from crying
  3. club — a group
  4. ground — crushed
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. cue — a hint
  8. club — for dancing
  9. club — for golf
  10. ground — the earth
  11. cue — for pool
  12. swing — music
  13. ground — a position
  14. swing — to play on
  15. suit — clothes
  16. wound — an injury
  17. suit — to fit
  18. suit — in cards
  19. wound — an injury
  20. cue — a signal
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. tear — to rip
  24. swing — in golf

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