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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. rock — music
  3. swing — in golf
  4. rock — a stone
  5. clip — a video
  6. chest — of your body
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. row — to paddle
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. stand — to bear
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. suit — to fit
  15. swing — to play on
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. chest — a box
  18. clip — for paper
  19. suit — clothes
  20. chest — of your body
  21. swing — music
  22. clip — to cut
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. row — a line

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