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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. swing — to play on
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. clip — to cut
  6. rock — music
  7. rock — a stone
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — a video
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. cell — a phone
  13. ground — the earth
  14. cell — in biology
  15. toast — bread
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. swing — in golf
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. ground — a position
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bark — to shout
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. ground — crushed

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