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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. tube — a container
  3. rock — music
  4. tube — the underground
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. fall — the season
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. fall — to drop
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. roll — a cake
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. roll — a list
  16. rock — a stone
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. capital — a city
  19. fall — to drop
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. clip — a video
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. clip — for paper
  24. arm — part of the body

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