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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. season — of the year
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. drill — a practice
  6. stand — to bear
  7. clip — for paper
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — after costs
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. clip — a video
  13. rash — hasty
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. rash — a series
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. net — in sport
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — army training
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. season — in sport
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. season — to add flavour

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