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

Word bank: march · plane · file · dip · wind · rule · chip · swing

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. swing — to play on
  5. file — a line of people
  6. swing — music
  7. rule — a law
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. dip — to sink
  11. chip — for betting
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. rule — government
  14. march — the month
  15. chip — to eat
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. plane — a tool
  19. wind — moving air
  20. swing — in golf
  21. wind — moving air
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a document
  24. plane — in geometry

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