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

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. last — finally
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. last — to go on
  13. fall — the season
  14. last — final
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. clip — a video
  18. pitch — completely

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