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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 116 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: clip · content · swing · racket · object · fork · cold · pitch

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. clip — a video
  3. swing — to play on
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. swing — music
  6. clip — to cut
  7. object — to protest
  8. object — a thing
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. content — happy
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. cold — not warm
  16. object — an aim
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. clip — for paper
  21. content — the amount
  22. cold — an illness
  23. swing — in golf
  24. pitch — completely

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