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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.

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: pound · track · swing · temple · hand · scale · court · clip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. hand — help
  3. scale — size or range
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. swing — to play on
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. court — of law
  9. clip — a video
  10. swing — in golf
  11. court — of a king
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. track — a song
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. clip — to cut
  16. scale — in music
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. track — to keep track
  19. track — a path
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. pound — a weight
  22. court — for sport
  23. swing — music
  24. hand — in cards

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