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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. clip — for paper
  5. band — a music group
  6. saw — the tool
  7. clip — to cut
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. clip — a video
  10. bass — the fish
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — in golf
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. capital — money
  16. fall — to drop
  17. capital — a city
  18. fork — in a road
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bass — low music
  23. fall — the season
  24. band — a ring

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