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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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. track — a path
  4. kid — child
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. swing — to play on
  9. clip — a video
  10. track — a song
  11. press — to push
  12. kid — to tease
  13. track — to keep track
  14. press — a publisher
  15. swing — in golf
  16. press — newspapers
  17. clip — for paper
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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