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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. pop — music
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. clip — a video
  5. mine — for digging
  6. board — a committee
  7. cue — a signal
  8. clip — to cut
  9. board — to get on
  10. swing — in golf
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. spring — the season
  13. swing — music
  14. swing — to play on
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. cue — for pool
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. cue — a hint
  19. pit — in a race
  20. pop — to visit
  21. pop — soda
  22. clip — for paper
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — a coil

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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