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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. swing — to play on
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. clip — a video
  5. pit — a hole
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. clip — for paper
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. clip — to cut
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. degree — from a university
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. fork — in a road
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. degree — temperature
  21. pit — in a race
  22. swing — in golf
  23. degree — an amount
  24. snap — to click

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