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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. swing — in golf
  3. bound — tied together
  4. kid — to tease
  5. file — a line of people
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. march — music
  8. ground — the earth
  9. march — the month
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. file — a document
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. file — a tool
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. swing — music
  16. bound — certain
  17. kid — child
  18. swing — to play on
  19. clip — a video
  20. ground — a position
  21. bound — obliged
  22. clip — for paper
  23. ground — crushed
  24. march — the month

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