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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. clip — for paper
  3. kid — child
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. rock — a stone
  7. current — electric
  8. swing — in golf
  9. current — of water
  10. rock — music
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. clip — to cut
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. clip — a video
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a tool
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. kid — to tease
  19. current — happening now
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. file — a document
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. swing — music
  24. leaves — to go away

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