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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. charge — in control
  3. swing — music
  4. clip — for paper
  5. degree — from a university
  6. suit — clothes
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — temperature
  9. chest — a box
  10. charge — electricity
  11. clip — to cut
  12. cap — a hat
  13. swing — in golf
  14. suit — to fit
  15. charge — a price
  16. cap — of ice
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. suit — in cards
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cap — a lid
  23. clip — a video
  24. chest — of your body

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