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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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468
Word bank
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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. wound — an injury
  5. clip — to cut
  6. swing — to play on
  7. chip — to eat
  8. perch — the fish
  9. swing — music
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. tear — from crying
  12. spring — of water
  13. chip — for betting
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. tear — to rip
  16. swing — in golf
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. tear — from crying
  19. clip — a video
  20. spring — a coil
  21. snap — to click
  22. wound — an injury
  23. spring — the season
  24. perch — for a bird

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