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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. charge — electricity
  3. cue — for pool
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. swing — to play on
  6. clip — for paper
  7. cue — a hint
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. swing — music
  11. cue — a signal
  12. clip — to cut
  13. field — for sport
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. field — farmland
  16. file — a document
  17. row — a line
  18. row — to paddle
  19. file — a line of people
  20. charge — a price
  21. field — a subject
  22. clip — a video
  23. charge — in control
  24. file — a tool

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