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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. clip — to cut
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. saw — the tool
  5. clip — for paper
  6. saw — the tool
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. cold — not warm
  9. face — to confront
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. face — to point toward
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. face — part of the head
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. clip — a video
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cold — an illness
  20. perch — the fish
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. kick — in football

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