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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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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. wind — moving air
  3. drill — a practice
  4. rule — government
  5. clip — a video
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. swing — music
  8. wind — moving air
  9. game — wild animals
  10. swing — in golf
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. drill — army training
  15. swing — to play on
  16. fine — all right
  17. squash — to crush
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. clip — for paper
  20. rule — a law
  21. game — a match
  22. squash — the sport
  23. fine — high quality
  24. squash — the vegetable

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