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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 116 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. rash — hasty
  3. cue — for pool
  4. clip — to cut
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. face — to confront
  7. swing — music
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. capital — a city
  10. rash — a series
  11. clip — for paper
  12. cue — a signal
  13. clip — a video
  14. face — to point toward
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — happy
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. cue — a hint
  20. face — part of the head
  21. capital — money
  22. swing — in golf
  23. content — the amount
  24. rash — on the skin

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