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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. swing — in golf
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. swing — music
  7. lie — to recline
  8. clip — to cut
  9. swing — to play on
  10. fine — all right
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — of water
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. charge — a price
  16. wind — moving air
  17. spring — the season
  18. fork — in a road
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. clip — for paper
  22. fine — high quality
  23. charge — in control
  24. charge — electricity

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