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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. fall — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. court — of law
  6. court — of a king
  7. dip — to sink
  8. board — a committee
  9. net — for catching
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. net — in sport
  12. clip — for paper
  13. net — after costs
  14. swing — music
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. board — to get on
  17. clip — a video
  18. swing — in golf
  19. fall — to drop
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. court — for sport
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — in music
  24. clip — to cut

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