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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: rush · ball · hide · mug · clip · lie · swing · cold

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. rush — hurry
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. swing — music
  5. mug — a face
  6. ball — a dance
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. mug — a cup
  10. clip — for paper
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. mug — to rob
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. cold — an illness
  15. ball — a great time
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. swing — in golf
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. cold — not warm
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — a video
  22. lie — to recline
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. rush — to hurry

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