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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. swing — in golf
  4. can — to be able to
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — to play on
  7. kid — to tease
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. row — a line
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. stem — to come from
  12. kid — child
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. can — a tin
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — for paper
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. row — to paddle
  20. stand — to bear
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. can — a tin
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. row — a quarrel

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