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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rush — hurry
  3. charge — a price
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. charge — electricity
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. file — a document
  8. clip — for paper
  9. hand — in cards
  10. lie — to recline
  11. kid — child
  12. club — a group
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. file — a tool
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. club — for dancing
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. club — for golf
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. kid — to tease
  21. file — a line of people
  22. clip — a video
  23. hand — help
  24. charge — in control

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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