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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: hand · fork · mine · swing · mouse · wind · calf · track

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. swing — in golf
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. mine — for digging
  7. swing — to play on
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. fork — in a road
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. track — a path
  16. hand — in cards
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. hand — help
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. swing — music
  22. track — a song
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. track — to keep track

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