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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. swing — in golf
  5. mine — for digging
  6. clip — a video
  7. drill — a practice
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. swing — music
  10. rock — a stone
  11. pop — to visit
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. drill — army training
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. swing — to play on
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. drill — the tool
  20. clip — for paper
  21. pop — soda
  22. clip — to cut
  23. pop — music
  24. rock — music

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