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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. chair — a leader
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — to wash
  8. lie — to recline
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. club — a group
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. shower — rain
  13. club — for dancing
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. clip — for paper
  18. game — wild animals
  19. club — for golf
  20. game — a match
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. clip — a video
  24. temple — a place of worship

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