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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. squash — the sport
  3. swing — in golf
  4. swing — to play on
  5. land — a country
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. clip — for paper
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. chip — for betting
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. stem — to come from
  13. clip — a video
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. squash — to crush
  16. land — ground
  17. face — part of the head
  18. swing — music
  19. face — to point toward
  20. land — to come down
  21. chip — to eat
  22. face — to confront
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stem — a stem cell

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