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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. chest — a box
  3. chest — of your body
  4. root — of a word
  5. clip — a video
  6. swing — to play on
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. root — the cause
  9. swing — in golf
  10. chest — of your body
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. clip — for paper
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. present — there
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. root — of a plant
  18. present — the time now
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. clip — to cut
  21. sharp — clever
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. present — a gift

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