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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: wake · swing · drill · hand · land · lean · season · scale

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. swing — music
  3. hand — help
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. land — a country
  6. season — of the year
  7. lean — thin
  8. land — ground
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. season — in sport
  11. swing — to play on
  12. scale — in music
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — the tool
  15. scale — size or range
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. drill — a practice
  18. wake — a trail
  19. land — to come down
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. lean — to bend
  22. swing — in golf
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. season — to add flavour

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