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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. rule — government
  4. swing — in golf
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. drill — a practice
  7. rule — a law
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. game — wild animals
  10. kick — in football
  11. game — a match
  12. bear — the animal
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. swing — music
  16. drill — army training
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. swing — to play on
  22. drill — the tool
  23. clip — a video
  24. bear — the animal

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