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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · stick · clip · file · swing · kick

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. march — the month
  3. file — a line of people
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. swing — to play on
  7. clip — a video
  8. swing — in golf
  9. kick — in football
  10. march — music
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. clip — to cut
  15. swing — music
  16. march — the month
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a tool

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