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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. game — a match
  4. net — after costs
  5. fine — high quality
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. spell — a short time
  9. clip — a video
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. spell — letters
  12. kick — in football
  13. clip — for paper
  14. lie — to recline
  15. net — for catching
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. net — in sport
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. spell — magic
  22. game — wild animals
  23. fine — all right
  24. bowl — a football final

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