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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 116 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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. saw — the tool
  5. clip — to cut
  6. rule — government
  7. wax — to grow
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. spell — a short time
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. spell — letters
  14. rule — a law
  15. clip — for paper
  16. saw — the tool
  17. clip — a video
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. spell — magic
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. swing — to play on
  24. swing — music

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