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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. present — there
  3. present — the time now
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. wind — moving air
  8. clip — a video
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. clip — to cut
  12. present — a gift
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. deal — to handle
  17. prune — to trim
  18. kick — in football
  19. rash — a series
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rash — hasty
  22. wind — moving air
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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