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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. capital — a city
  4. clip — to cut
  5. saw — the tool
  6. field — a subject
  7. clip — for paper
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — to play on
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. field — for sport
  13. saw — the tool
  14. capital — money
  15. craft — a skill
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. clip — a video
  21. stand — to bear
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. field — farmland
  24. craft — boats

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