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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rest — what's left
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. rest — a break
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. march — music
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. toast — bread
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — to tease
  15. march — the month
  16. clip — for paper
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. rest — what's left
  22. clip — a video
  23. march — the month
  24. wave — of the sea

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