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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. chest — a box
  3. clip — to cut
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. clip — a video
  8. pitch — completely
  9. can — a tin
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. swing — music
  12. content — the amount
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. chest — of your body
  15. clip — for paper
  16. swing — in golf
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. content — happy
  19. mine — for digging
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — to be able to
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. chest — of your body

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