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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. swing — music
  3. content — the amount
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. clip — to cut
  6. swing — in golf
  7. clip — a video
  8. swing — to play on
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a music group
  13. squash — to crush
  14. capital — a city
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. clip — for paper
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. content — happy
  20. squash — the sport
  21. band — a ring
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. capital — money
  24. content — videos and posts

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