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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. swing — music
  3. last — finally
  4. file — a line of people
  5. last — final
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. last — to go on
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — to cut
  10. wind — moving air
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. clip — for paper
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — to recline
  16. wind — moving air
  17. swing — in golf
  18. lie — an untruth

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