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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  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. rush — to hurry
  2. rush — hurry
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. board — to get on
  5. clip — for paper
  6. chip — to eat
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. wind — moving air
  9. spring — a coil
  10. chip — for betting
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. clip — a video
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. spring — of water
  18. clip — to cut
  19. board — a committee
  20. spring — the season
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — in golf
  23. chip — in a computer
  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