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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: dip · clip · mark · swing · cold · deal · chip · wind

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. swing — music
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. chip — for betting
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — for paper
  8. chip — to eat
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. cold — an illness
  11. wind — moving air
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. clip — to cut
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. dip — to sink
  18. cold — not warm
  19. swing — in golf
  20. swing — to play on
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. deal — to handle
  23. mark — a trace
  24. mark — a grade

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