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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. tear — to rip
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. tear — from crying
  6. swing — music
  7. spell — a short time
  8. game — a match
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bound — certain
  12. pass — a permit
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bound — obliged
  15. spell — letters
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — to cut
  19. game — wild animals
  20. rule — government
  21. rule — a law
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. spell — magic
  24. tear — from crying

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