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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. saw — the tool
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. ball — a great time
  6. foot — a measure
  7. clip — a video
  8. last — finally
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. clip — for paper
  13. ball — a dance
  14. last — to go on
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. last — final
  18. saw — the tool
  19. kick — in football
  20. charge — a price
  21. charge — electricity
  22. dip — to sink
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. charge — in control

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