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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.

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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: swing · content · clip · roll · ground · bass · present · coach

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. bass — low music
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bass — the fish
  6. clip — for paper
  7. present — the time now
  8. swing — to play on
  9. ground — crushed
  10. present — there
  11. content — happy
  12. content — the amount
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. clip — to cut
  15. ground — a position
  16. roll — a cake
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. clip — a video
  19. swing — music
  20. ground — the earth
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. roll — a list
  23. present — a gift
  24. coach — a trainer

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