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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. swing — in golf
  3. fine — high quality
  4. swing — music
  5. clip — a video
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. kick — in football
  8. field — a subject
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. field — for sport
  12. spring — a coil
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. fine — all right
  15. swing — to play on
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. clip — for paper
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — the season
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. field — farmland
  24. kick — with a leg

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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