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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 116 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: mate · coach · deal · wax · swing · clip · ball · chip

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  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. deal — a big deal
  2. wax — to grow
  3. swing — to play on
  4. swing — in golf
  5. ball — a dance
  6. clip — a video
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. ball — a great time
  9. clip — to cut
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. mate — a partner
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. deal — to handle
  15. chip — to eat
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. chip — for betting
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. clip — for paper
  21. mate — a friend
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. mate — to breed
  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