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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: clip · present · cue · mate · swing · bear · plane · cold

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. bear — the animal
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. mate — a partner
  6. clip — to cut
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cue — for pool
  9. swing — to play on
  10. cold — an illness
  11. present — there
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — in golf
  14. bear — the animal
  15. present — the time now
  16. cue — a hint
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cue — a signal
  20. clip — a video
  21. mate — a friend
  22. plane — a tool
  23. present — a gift
  24. plane — in geometry

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