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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: clip · swing · bear · march · shower · field · pitch · scale

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. swing — music
  3. scale — in music
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. bear — the animal
  7. swing — in golf
  8. shower — to wash
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. scale — size or range
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. pitch — completely
  15. field — farmland
  16. clip — a video
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bear — the animal
  20. swing — to play on
  21. shower — rain
  22. march — the month
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — for sport

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