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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. row — to paddle
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. cue — a hint
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. clip — a video
  9. swing — to play on
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. clip — for paper
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. cue — a signal
  14. row — a line
  15. swing — music
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. cue — for pool
  18. sharp — clever
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. clip — to cut
  24. sharp — exactly

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