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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — there
  3. clip — a video
  4. capital — money
  5. net — in sport
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. swing — in golf
  8. swing — to play on
  9. clip — to cut
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — after costs
  13. capital — a city
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. prune — to trim
  17. swing — music
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. pitch — completely
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. present — the time now

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