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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rock · clip · fork · content · swing · tear

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. swing — to play on
  5. content — the amount
  6. fork — in a road
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. swing — in golf
  9. rock — music
  10. rock — a stone
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. clip — to cut
  13. swing — music
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. clip — a video
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. tear — to rip
  18. content — happy

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