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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. season — of the year
  4. swing — music
  5. season — in sport
  6. ball — a great time
  7. file — a line of people
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. cap — a lid
  11. swing — to play on
  12. clip — a video
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. swing — in golf
  16. clip — for paper
  17. last — finally
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. cap — a hat
  20. ball — a dance
  21. cap — of ice
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a tool
  24. leaves — to go away

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