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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  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 — for paper
  2. spell — letters
  3. lean — to bend
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. rest — what's left
  8. clip — to cut
  9. swing — music
  10. bark — to shout
  11. spell — a short time
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. spell — magic
  14. lean — thin
  15. rest — a break
  16. rest — what's left
  17. swing — to play on
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. sharp — clever
  20. clip — a video
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. sharp — exactly
  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