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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. clip — to cut
  3. squash — the sport
  4. field — farmland
  5. lean — thin
  6. chip — to eat
  7. clip — a video
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. swing — music
  11. chip — for betting
  12. squash — to crush
  13. swing — in golf
  14. field — a subject
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. bass — low music
  17. field — for sport
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. swing — to play on
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bass — the fish
  22. mark — a grade
  23. clip — for paper
  24. lean — to bend

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