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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 · mouse · tear · snap · wound · present · charge

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. present — the time now
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. swing — music
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. march — the month
  10. wound — an injury
  11. present — a gift
  12. march — the month
  13. snap — to click
  14. swing — to play on
  15. present — there
  16. march — music
  17. tear — to rip
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. charge — in control
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. charge — a price
  23. swing — in golf
  24. mouse — for a computer

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