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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. swing — to play on
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. clip — to cut
  5. sharp — clever
  6. swing — in golf
  7. tear — from crying
  8. clip — for paper
  9. chest — of your body
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. rest — a break
  13. board — to get on
  14. chest — of your body
  15. tear — to rip
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. clip — a video
  18. chest — a box
  19. rest — what's left
  20. tear — from crying
  21. rest — what's left
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. board — a committee

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