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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: tube · rule · charge · swing · clip · land · face · wind

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rule — a law
  4. land — ground
  5. tube — a container
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. charge — in control
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. swing — in golf
  10. face — part of the head
  11. rule — government
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. clip — to cut
  15. tube — the underground
  16. swing — to play on
  17. charge — a price
  18. clip — a video
  19. face — to point toward
  20. land — a country
  21. land — to come down
  22. charge — electricity
  23. face — to confront
  24. swing — music

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