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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: row · stick · pound · swing · bat · clip · rock · chair

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  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. clip — a video
  2. chair — a leader
  3. clip — for paper
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. swing — music
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. swing — to play on
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pound — a weight
  14. bat — the animal
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. rock — music
  18. rock — a stone
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. swing — in golf
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a line
  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