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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 · bowl · chip · rush · mine · wax · saw · swing

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. swing — music
  3. mine — for digging
  4. saw — the tool
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. chip — for betting
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. swing — in golf
  15. rush — hurry
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. clip — a video
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. clip — for paper
  22. swing — to play on
  23. chip — to eat
  24. wax — to grow

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