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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. swing — to play on
  3. swing — music
  4. race — the arms race
  5. charge — in control
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — a contest
  8. root — of a plant
  9. spring — of water
  10. swing — in golf
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. charge — a price
  13. clip — a video
  14. spring — the season
  15. row — a line
  16. charge — electricity
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. clip — for paper
  20. root — the cause
  21. row — to paddle
  22. spring — a coil
  23. root — of a word
  24. clip — to cut

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