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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. rock — music
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. charge — in control
  7. rock — a stone
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. march — the month
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bat — the animal
  14. charge — electricity
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. march — music
  17. swing — in golf
  18. march — the month
  19. charge — a price
  20. deal — to handle
  21. clip — for paper
  22. swing — music
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. swing — to play on

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