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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. march — the month
  5. rule — a law
  6. stem — to come from
  7. march — the month
  8. bear — the animal
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. rule — government
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — a video
  24. march — music

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