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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 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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. club — a group
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. scale — size or range
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. shower — rain
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. clip — a video
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. branch — a division
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. shower — to wash
  17. band — a ring
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. clip — for paper
  20. scale — in music
  21. band — a music group
  22. club — for golf
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. club — for dancing

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