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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. clip — to cut
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. court — for sport
  6. bound — certain
  7. swing — to play on
  8. court — of law
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bound — obliged
  13. mine — for digging
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. court — of a king
  16. cap — a hat
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. clip — for paper
  19. swing — music
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — the animal
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a lid
  24. clip — a video

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