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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 116 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. hand — help
  3. rash — a series
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. mate — a friend
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. hand — in cards
  8. root — of a plant
  9. mine — for digging
  10. root — the cause
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. rash — hasty
  14. root — of a word
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. mate — to breed
  17. clip — a video
  18. mate — a partner
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. clip — for paper
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. hide — to keep secret

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