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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: jam · arm · date · toast · wind · kid · clip · swing

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — for paper
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. swing — in golf
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. swing — to play on
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. swing — music
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. kid — to tease
  13. date — the fruit
  14. kid — child
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. toast — bread
  24. clip — to cut

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