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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: board · pitch · bass · clip · swing · bark · chair · bat

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. swing — music
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bark — to shout
  6. board — a committee
  7. bass — low music
  8. clip — a video
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. board — to get on
  12. clip — for paper
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. bass — the fish
  15. pitch — completely
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. swing — in golf
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. swing — to play on
  23. chair — a leader
  24. clip — to cut

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