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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. fall — to drop
  4. land — a country
  5. scale — in music
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — music
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bear — the animal
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — a video
  12. fall — the season
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. swing — to play on
  15. land — ground
  16. fall — to drop
  17. face — part of the head
  18. scale — size or range
  19. face — to confront
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. face — to point toward
  22. land — to come down
  23. pitch — completely
  24. bear — the animal

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