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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. swing — in golf
  3. deal — to handle
  4. swing — music
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. clip — a video
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. fine — all right
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. charge — electricity
  11. cold — not warm
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. fine — high quality
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. clip — to cut
  19. charge — in control
  20. cold — an illness
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. charge — a price
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. clip — for paper

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