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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 · track · clip · face · arm · march · chair · root

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. clip — a video
  3. chair — a leader
  4. root — of a plant
  5. track — a song
  6. root — the cause
  7. face — to point toward
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — for paper
  10. march — the month
  11. track — a path
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. track — to keep track
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. face — to confront
  16. root — of a word
  17. face — part of the head
  18. swing — music
  19. march — music
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. swing — to play on
  22. march — the month
  23. swing — in golf
  24. arm — part of the body

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