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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. swing — in golf
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. ground — crushed
  7. clip — for paper
  8. ground — the earth
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. swing — music
  12. capital — money
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. ground — a position
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. pass — a permit
  18. capital — a city
  19. clip — to cut
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. fork — in a road
  22. clip — a video
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. swing — to play on

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