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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 116 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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. clip — for paper
  3. ball — a great time
  4. ball — a dance
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. clip — to cut
  9. swing — to play on
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. scale — size or range
  12. row — a line
  13. scale — in music
  14. clip — a video
  15. race — humankind
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. race — the arms race
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. race — a contest
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. swing — music
  24. bowl — to roll

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