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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 120 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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. mug — a cup
  3. current — of water
  4. swing — to play on
  5. file — a tool
  6. season — in sport
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. clip — a video
  10. file — a line of people
  11. swing — music
  12. rock — music
  13. rock — a stone
  14. mug — to rob
  15. season — of the year
  16. current — electric
  17. file — a document
  18. clip — to cut
  19. court — for sport
  20. court — of a king
  21. clip — for paper
  22. current — happening now
  23. court — of law
  24. swing — in golf

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