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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. degree — from a university
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. swing — to play on
  5. bear — the animal
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. degree — an amount
  8. clip — a video
  9. season — in sport
  10. degree — temperature
  11. kick — in football
  12. lean — thin
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. lean — to bend
  18. bear — the animal
  19. swing — music
  20. pound — a weight
  21. swing — in golf
  22. clip — to cut
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. season — of the year

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