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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. stem — to come from
  3. clip — a video
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. ball — a dance
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. race — a contest
  8. swing — music
  9. clip — to cut
  10. net — in sport
  11. race — humankind
  12. race — the arms race
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. swing — to play on
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. ball — a great time
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. content — the amount
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — for catching
  23. content — happy
  24. clip — for paper

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