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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. wind — moving air
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. clip — to cut
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. swing — music
  8. clip — a video
  9. row — to paddle
  10. chip — for betting
  11. squash — to crush
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — to play on
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. chip — to eat
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. clip — for paper
  22. wind — moving air
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. squash — the sport

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