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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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Word bank
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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: bowl · swing · season · clip · deal · bound · bat · leaves

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — of the year
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bound — tied together
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. swing — in golf
  11. season — in sport
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. clip — a video
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. swing — music
  16. bat — the animal
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. deal — to handle
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bound — obliged
  23. swing — to play on
  24. bound — certain

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