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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. scale — in music
  3. prune — to trim
  4. ground — crushed
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. suit — to fit
  8. clip — a video
  9. ground — a position
  10. spring — of water
  11. suit — in cards
  12. swing — music
  13. hand — in cards
  14. scale — size or range
  15. ground — the earth
  16. spring — a coil
  17. suit — clothes
  18. spring — the season
  19. swing — to play on
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — to cut
  22. prune — to trim
  23. swing — in golf
  24. prune — the fruit

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