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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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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: swing · march · game · clip · can · press · drill · mine

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. game — a match
  3. clip — for paper
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. drill — army training
  6. drill — the tool
  7. press — newspapers
  8. march — music
  9. press — to push
  10. can — to be able to
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. can — a tin
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mine — for digging
  16. drill — a practice
  17. clip — a video
  18. can — a tin
  19. game — wild animals
  20. swing — in golf
  21. press — a publisher
  22. swing — to play on
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. clip — to cut

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