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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. swing — to play on
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. rash — a series
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. kid — to tease
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. kid — child
  11. clip — to cut
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. wound — an injury
  14. deal — to handle
  15. wound — an injury
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — humankind
  18. race — the arms race
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. clip — a video
  21. rash — hasty
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. swing — in golf
  24. swing — music

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