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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 120 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. game — wild animals
  4. clip — for paper
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. game — a match
  7. swing — music
  8. swing — in golf
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. dip — to sink
  11. kick — in football
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. clip — a video
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. chair — a leader
  19. bark — to shout
  20. clip — to cut
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. sharp — clever

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