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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. degree — from a university
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. can — to be able to
  6. can — a tin
  7. swing — music
  8. club — for dancing
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. bound — tied together
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. swing — to play on
  14. pitch — completely
  15. clip — for paper
  16. club — for golf
  17. degree — an amount
  18. clip — a video
  19. swing — in golf
  20. can — a tin
  21. bound — obliged
  22. club — a group
  23. bound — certain
  24. degree — temperature

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