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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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Word bank
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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: clip · saw · jam · chair · swing · fall · game · date

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. clip — to cut
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. game — a match
  6. saw — the tool
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. saw — the tool
  9. swing — in golf
  10. clip — for paper
  11. fall — to drop
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. swing — music
  15. fall — to drop
  16. swing — to play on
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. clip — a video
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. chair — a leader
  24. fall — the season

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