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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. swing — in golf
  4. lie — to recline
  5. clip — for paper
  6. rock — music
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. row — a line
  9. clip — to cut
  10. scale — in music
  11. pitch — completely
  12. scale — size or range
  13. swing — music
  14. row — to paddle
  15. root — of a word
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. clip — a video
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. root — the cause
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. root — of a plant
  24. rock — a stone

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