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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: staff · saw · fan · march · swing · club · wind · hand

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. march — the month
  4. saw — the tool
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — in golf
  7. hand — help
  8. swing — to play on
  9. club — for dancing
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. march — music
  12. staff — a stick
  13. wind — moving air
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — employees
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. club — a group
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. saw — the tool
  20. wind — moving air
  21. hand — in cards
  22. club — for golf
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fan — to cool the 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