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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: game · swing · stock · mug · clip · shower · suit · rest

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. rest — what's left
  3. stock — shares
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. rest — a break
  6. clip — for paper
  7. swing — in golf
  8. clip — a video
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. clip — to cut
  11. game — a match
  12. mug — a face
  13. mug — to rob
  14. stock — goods
  15. mug — a cup
  16. rest — what's left
  17. suit — in cards
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. suit — clothes
  20. game — wild animals
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — to play on
  23. suit — to fit
  24. shower — rain

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