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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. stand — to bear
  3. clip — a video
  4. squash — to crush
  5. swing — music
  6. firm — decided
  7. hand — help
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. hand — in cards
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. swing — to play on
  12. capital — a city
  13. squash — the sport
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. firm — steady
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. clip — for paper
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. swing — in golf
  23. capital — money
  24. clip — to cut

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