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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. swing — music
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. scale — in music
  5. prune — to trim
  6. court — of law
  7. last — final
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. ball — a great time
  10. swing — in golf
  11. clip — for paper
  12. ball — a dance
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — for sport
  15. scale — size or range
  16. cue — for pool
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. last — to go on
  19. cue — a signal
  20. clip — to cut
  21. swing — to play on
  22. clip — a video
  23. cue — a hint
  24. prune — to trim

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