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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. clip — to cut
  3. scale — size or range
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. present — a gift
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. rest — what's left
  14. scale — in music
  15. present — there
  16. pass — a permit
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. rest — a break
  19. present — the time now
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — for paper
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. chest — a box

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