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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: spring · band · fork · calf · deal · swing · game · hide

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. game — wild animals
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. deal — to handle
  7. swing — in golf
  8. swing — to play on
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. spring — the season
  11. fork — in a road
  12. spring — a coil
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. spring — of water
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. swing — music
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. band — a ring
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. band — a music group
  24. game — a match

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