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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. file — a document
  4. game — wild animals
  5. deal — to handle
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. clip — to cut
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — a match
  10. file — a tool
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. bank — for money
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. clip — for paper
  16. swing — music
  17. bank — for money
  18. clip — a video
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. bank — of a river
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. swing — to play on
  24. file — a line of people

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