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

Word bank: straw · swing · race · clip · tear · game · staff · suit

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. tear — from crying
  3. race — humankind
  4. game — wild animals
  5. staff — employees
  6. game — a match
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — for paper
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. suit — in cards
  14. staff — employees
  15. race — the arms race
  16. swing — music
  17. suit — clothes
  18. swing — to play on
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. race — a contest
  21. staff — a stick
  22. swing — in golf
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. suit — to fit

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