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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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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. tear — from crying
  3. scale — size or range
  4. swing — in golf
  5. tear — to rip
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. date — the fruit
  8. tear — from crying
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a document
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. clip — for paper
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. swing — music
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — for light
  19. clip — a video
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. clip — to cut
  22. scale — in music
  23. swing — to play on
  24. racket — for tennis

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