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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. swing — music
  3. can — to be able to
  4. can — a tin
  5. can — a tin
  6. march — the month
  7. clip — for paper
  8. march — the month
  9. wind — moving air
  10. charge — in control
  11. wind — moving air
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — in cards
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. hand — help
  17. swing — to play on
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. charge — electricity
  20. clip — to cut
  21. charge — a price
  22. march — music
  23. clip — a video
  24. fork — in a road

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