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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. season — in sport
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. bank — for money
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. bank — of a river
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. clip — for paper
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. rule — government
  12. bank — for money
  13. rule — a law
  14. clip — to cut
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. swing — in golf
  17. season — of the year
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. clip — a video
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a match
  24. swing — music

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