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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: bear · chip · swing · chair · mouse · clip · row · saw

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. chip — for betting
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. chip — to eat
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. clip — for paper
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. chair — a leader
  12. bear — the animal
  13. saw — the tool
  14. clip — to cut
  15. row — to paddle
  16. clip — a video
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bear — the animal
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. swing — music
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. swing — in golf
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. row — a line

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