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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. firm — steady
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. swing — music
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. clip — to cut
  9. game — wild animals
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. clip — a video
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. race — humankind
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. race — the arms race
  17. plane — a tool
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. firm — a company
  20. firm — decided
  21. swing — to play on
  22. race — a contest
  23. swing — in golf
  24. game — a match

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