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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 120 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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. current — of water
  4. rest — what's left
  5. dip — to sink
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. swing — to play on
  8. rest — what's left
  9. prune — to trim
  10. current — happening now
  11. swing — in golf
  12. kick — in football
  13. clip — a video
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. rest — a break
  16. prune — to trim
  17. lean — thin
  18. swing — music
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — to cut
  21. lean — to bend
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. current — electric
  24. prune — the fruit

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