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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: mine · suit · swing · clip · cell · charge · rule · stock

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. suit — to fit
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. clip — a video
  6. rule — a law
  7. clip — for paper
  8. charge — electricity
  9. charge — in control
  10. suit — in cards
  11. stock — goods
  12. cell — in biology
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. charge — a price
  15. cell — a phone
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — music
  19. rule — government
  20. suit — clothes
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. swing — in golf
  23. stock — shares
  24. clip — to cut

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