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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. spell — magic
  4. bear — the animal
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. lie — to recline
  7. object — an aim
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. object — a thing
  10. track — a song
  11. mine — for digging
  12. snap — to click
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. bear — the animal
  15. object — to protest
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. clip — to cut
  18. track — to keep track
  19. spell — a short time
  20. track — a path
  21. clip — a video
  22. spell — letters
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. lie — an untruth

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