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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. swing — music
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. root — of a word
  5. club — for golf
  6. club — for dancing
  7. clip — to cut
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. clip — a video
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. club — a group
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. swing — to play on
  20. swing — in golf
  21. branch — a division
  22. root — of a plant
  23. clip — for paper
  24. root — the cause

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