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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 116 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. track — a song
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. land — ground
  5. squash — the sport
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — a skill
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. clip — for paper
  11. sharp — clever
  12. craft — boats
  13. firm — a company
  14. land — a country
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. track — to keep track
  17. track — a path
  18. wind — moving air
  19. squash — to crush
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. land — to come down
  22. firm — steady
  23. clip — a video
  24. firm — decided

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