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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. wound — an injury
  3. current — happening now
  4. wound — an injury
  5. current — electric
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. swing — music
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. scale — in music
  12. clip — for paper
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. roll — a list
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. swing — to play on
  17. mine — for digging
  18. current — of water
  19. scale — size or range
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. roll — a cake
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. scale — for weighing

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