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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rash — a series
  3. swing — to play on
  4. firm — a company
  5. firm — decided
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. file — a line of people
  8. roll — a list
  9. game — wild animals
  10. firm — steady
  11. rule — government
  12. rash — hasty
  13. file — a tool
  14. swing — in golf
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. clip — a video
  18. file — a document
  19. rule — a law
  20. swing — music
  21. game — a match
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. clip — for paper
  24. roll — a cake

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