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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. spell — letters
  4. clip — to cut
  5. season — of the year
  6. club — for golf
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. spell — magic
  9. fine — all right
  10. season — in sport
  11. bass — the fish
  12. clip — a video
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. swing — music
  15. clip — for paper
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. fine — high quality
  18. spell — a short time
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bass — low music
  21. club — for dancing
  22. swing — in golf
  23. club — a group
  24. temple — a place of worship

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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