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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. chest — a box
  4. clip — a video
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. prune — to trim
  8. clip — for paper
  9. swing — to play on
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. row — a line
  13. chest — of your body
  14. foot — a measure
  15. chest — of your body
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. clip — to cut
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. prune — to trim
  20. swing — music
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — to paddle

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