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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. chest — a box
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. band — a ring
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. clip — a video
  8. chest — of your body
  9. last — to go on
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. clip — for paper
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. chest — of your body
  16. kick — in football
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — goods
  19. last — final
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. last — finally
  24. band — a music group

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