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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  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. can — a tin
  2. court — of law
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. swing — to play on
  5. swing — in golf
  6. court — for sport
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. squash — the sport
  9. squash — to crush
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. band — a music group
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. clip — a video
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. can — a tin
  16. swing — music
  17. band — a ring
  18. clip — for paper
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. court — of a king
  21. can — to be able to
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. sharp — clever
  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