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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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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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. bear — the animal
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. prune — to trim
  8. swing — to play on
  9. kick — in football
  10. net — after costs
  11. drill — the tool
  12. swing — music
  13. bear — the animal
  14. net — in sport
  15. prune — to trim
  16. swing — in golf
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. drill — a practice
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. net — for catching
  21. drill — army training
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — a video
  24. kick — a thrill

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