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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. land — to come down
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. clip — to cut
  6. land — a country
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. mine — for digging
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. clip — for paper
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. stem — to come from
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. pit — in a race
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — to play on
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. land — ground
  23. clip — a video
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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