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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — hurry
  4. craft — a skill
  5. last — final
  6. clip — for paper
  7. last — finally
  8. swing — to play on
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. charge — a price
  12. craft — boats
  13. charge — electricity
  14. last — to go on
  15. swing — in golf
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. swing — music
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. rash — a series
  20. charge — in control
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. clip — a video
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. rash — hasty

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