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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. swing — to play on
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. clip — a video
  5. rash — hasty
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. swing — music
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. kid — to tease
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. lean — thin
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. lean — to bend
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. clip — for paper
  19. rash — a series
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. kid — child
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. swing — in golf

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