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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · firm · swing · rule · clip · arm

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rule — government
  6. firm — a company
  7. swing — music
  8. clip — for paper
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — to play on
  12. firm — decided
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. clip — to cut
  17. firm — steady
  18. clip — a video

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