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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. chest — of your body
  5. ground — crushed
  6. mark — a trace
  7. clip — a video
  8. swing — to play on
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. ground — a position
  11. swing — in golf
  12. staff — employees
  13. mark — a grade
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. ground — the earth
  17. tube — the underground
  18. staff — employees
  19. chest — a box
  20. swing — music
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — to cut
  24. tube — a container

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