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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. clip — to cut
  4. kick — in football
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. rock — a stone
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. swing — to play on
  9. swing — music
  10. land — a country
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — finally
  15. rock — music
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. swing — in golf
  19. deal — to handle
  20. clip — a video
  21. last — final
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. land — ground
  24. land — to come down

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