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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. firm — a company
  3. firm — steady
  4. bear — the animal
  5. swing — music
  6. bass — low music
  7. march — music
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. march — the month
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bass — the fish
  12. clip — a video
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bear — the animal
  16. clip — to cut
  17. march — the month
  18. firm — decided
  19. clip — for paper
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — in golf
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. coach — a trainer

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