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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. swing — in golf
  3. squash — to crush
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. march — the month
  6. clip — a video
  7. band — a music group
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. swing — to play on
  10. clip — to cut
  11. swing — music
  12. clip — for paper
  13. mug — to rob
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a ring
  16. march — the month
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. march — music
  20. kick — in football
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. squash — the sport
  23. mug — a face
  24. mug — a cup

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