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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. key — in music
  3. firm — a company
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. key — for a lock
  7. wind — moving air
  8. firm — decided
  9. clip — a video
  10. stand — to bear
  11. drill — a practice
  12. firm — steady
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. key — the most important part
  17. file — a tool
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — army training
  22. file — a document
  23. clip — for paper
  24. file — a line of people

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