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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. clip — a video
  3. suit — to fit
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. saw — the tool
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. lean — to bend
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. lean — thin
  10. bear — the animal
  11. clip — to cut
  12. suit — clothes
  13. toast — bread
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. cold — not warm
  17. suit — in cards
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bear — the animal
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. cold — an illness
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. clip — for paper
  24. arm — part of the body

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