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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. swing — music
  3. foot — a measure
  4. swing — in golf
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. bound — certain
  9. shower — to wash
  10. field — for sport
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. bound — obliged
  16. field — a subject
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. clip — for paper
  20. shower — rain
  21. clip — a video
  22. bound — tied together
  23. swing — to play on
  24. field — farmland

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