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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. clip — for paper
  3. swing — to play on
  4. clip — a video
  5. chip — to eat
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — a coil
  9. board — to get on
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. swing — in golf
  12. spring — the season
  13. board — a committee
  14. clip — to cut
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. chip — for betting
  18. wind — moving 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