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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. swing — music
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. scale — in music
  5. swing — to play on
  6. fork — in a road
  7. net — in sport
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. net — after costs
  13. scale — size or range
  14. row — to paddle
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — for paper
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — a series
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — a line
  21. pitch — completely
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. swing — in golf
  24. net — for catching

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