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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. can — a tin
  3. tube — a container
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bass — low music
  7. swing — to play on
  8. swing — music
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. court — of law
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. kid — child
  15. clip — to cut
  16. kid — to tease
  17. court — for sport
  18. can — a tin
  19. snap — to click
  20. bass — the fish
  21. can — to be able to
  22. court — of a king
  23. clip — a video
  24. tube — the underground

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