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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 120 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. swing — to play on
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. hand — help
  6. clip — to cut
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. clip — for paper
  10. stand — to bear
  11. clip — a video
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. lean — thin
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. swing — music
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — wild animals
  21. lean — to bend
  22. swing — in golf
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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