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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. fall — the season
  3. can — a tin
  4. track — a song
  5. track — to keep track
  6. can — a tin
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. track — a path
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. foot — a measure
  22. can — to be able to
  23. bat — the animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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