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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. clip — for paper
  3. key — in music
  4. snap — to click
  5. prune — to trim
  6. swing — in golf
  7. clip — to cut
  8. stand — to bear
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. last — to go on
  12. ground — crushed
  13. swing — music
  14. last — final
  15. key — for a lock
  16. last — finally
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. ground — the earth
  19. clip — a video
  20. key — the most important part
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. ground — a position
  24. stand — on your feet

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