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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. clip — for paper
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. last — finally
  7. swing — to play on
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wax — to grow
  10. dip — to sink
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. stem — to come from
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. clip — to cut
  20. last — to go on
  21. clip — a video
  22. swing — in golf
  23. last — final
  24. wax — in the ear

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