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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. clip — a video
  4. tear — from crying
  5. perch — the fish
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. mark — a trace
  8. swing — to play on
  9. clip — to cut
  10. mark — a grade
  11. ball — a great time
  12. tear — from crying
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. pitch — completely
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — music
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. ball — a dance
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. lean — thin
  21. tear — to rip
  22. lean — to bend
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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