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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. suit — in cards
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. tube — the underground
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. clip — to cut
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wound — an injury
  13. suit — to fit
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. tube — a container
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. suit — clothes
  18. sharp — clever
  19. clip — for paper
  20. swing — in golf
  21. clip — a video
  22. wound — an injury
  23. swing — to play on
  24. temple — side of the head

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