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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. swing — music
  3. clip — to cut
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. scale — in music
  7. band — a music group
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. scale — size or range
  10. band — a ring
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. clip — a video
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. swing — to play on
  17. fine — all right
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. clip — for paper
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. fine — high quality
  22. swing — in golf
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. toast — bread

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