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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. swing — music
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. swing — in golf
  5. content — the amount
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. cap — a lid
  9. row — a line
  10. staff — a stick
  11. clip — for paper
  12. swing — to play on
  13. staff — employees
  14. row — to paddle
  15. cap — a hat
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. cap — of ice
  20. content — happy
  21. clip — a video
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. staff — employees

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