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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: swing · rule · can · tear · deal · clip · mouse · fan

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. can — to be able to
  3. can — a tin
  4. clip — to cut
  5. swing — music
  6. rule — a law
  7. tear — from crying
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. can — a tin
  10. tear — from crying
  11. swing — in golf
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. clip — a video
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. rule — government
  22. clip — for paper
  23. tear — to rip
  24. deal — to handle

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