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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  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. kick — a thrill
  2. swing — music
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. rule — government
  5. degree — an amount
  6. clip — for paper
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. rule — a law
  9. swing — in golf
  10. net — after costs
  11. degree — temperature
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — in sport
  14. swing — to play on
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. degree — from a university
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. clip — to cut
  22. kick — in football
  23. pass — a permit
  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