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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. track — to keep track
  6. prune — to trim
  7. chair — a leader
  8. track — a song
  9. wound — an injury
  10. capital — a city
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. fall — to drop
  13. prune — to trim
  14. swing — in golf
  15. swing — music
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fall — the season
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. track — a path
  22. capital — money
  23. fall — to drop
  24. arm — part of the 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