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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bear — the animal
  3. swing — music
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bear — the animal
  6. swing — to play on
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. can — a tin
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. can — to be able to
  11. clip — to cut
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. swing — in golf
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. scale — size or range
  19. kick — in football
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. can — a tin
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. scale — in music
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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