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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 always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. clip — to cut
  4. branch — a division
  5. charge — a price
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. roll — a cake
  8. swing — in golf
  9. stand — to bear
  10. charge — in control
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. roll — a list
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — a video
  19. squash — to crush
  20. squash — the sport
  21. charge — electricity
  22. swing — to play on
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. swing — music

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